Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip: Season 2!
by Anti-Twilight Forever
Summary: The crossover trio is back for a second season, with a new plot set up, new friends... and new chaos waiting for them, as the guys move into an apartment together, dealing with wacky situations while the evil Doctor Robotnik tries to kick them out!
1. Pilot: New Plot, Old Trouble

**I'm baaaaaaaaack! And here's a little treat for you all!**

**First, I'd like to thank Mr. Cartoon for sharing his ideas and helping me out with most of these chapters. We're both going to do our best to keep you entertained- as well as enjoy ourselves (because that's what Fanfiction is mostly about).**

**Also, this story may borrow ideas from other shows (which we will list, as the Disclaimer proves) and will feature new characters of our own designs, from different shows, or recurring characters from the first story. Also we changed the appearances of the main characters, since this takes place 3 years into the future (for reference, you can check out Shewolf91's profile on DeviantArt) and it will also feature a new setting.**

**Now, without further ado, here's the pilot to the first episode of the second season of... **_**Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip!**_

_**Disclaimer: We don't own any actuall cartoons/cameos that appear in this fic. All OC are property of Mr. Cartoon and I. ...So call off the lawyers!**_

**d~b**

_Pilot_

_*New Home, New Friends, Old Trouble*_

_Part One_

It was a cool day in the city of Toonopolis. Summer was coming to an end, with Fall approaching fast, giving a slow pace to the schedule of the every-day man. As we overlook the tall buildings, parks, and neighborhood areas, a voice comes on the radio to give some entertainment for everyone's usual routine.

_'Well, it's been a great Friday today, folks- thank God too, now we can enjoy the weekend, heh. This is your DJ, Leo Brave, signing out for the first time this year at the radiostation, hope I kept everyone tuned in and hear some good things from ya later on. Lets close the show with a little Newsboys with 'Shine'. Have a good day and God bless."_

As the song played, we zoom in on a train station, where a tall, scrawny man of 21 with a thick goatee and messy hair stepped off. He wore a green sleeveless shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt and jeans, and was listening to his iPod as he walked, carrying a suitcase. His name was Norville Rogers... but everyone called him 'Shaggy'.

Years ago, his goatea was thinner, and he always wore T-shirts with burgundy pants, and was known for solving mysteries with his friends Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, Velma Dinkley, and his Great Dane dog, Scooby Doo. But, a lot had changed over the past 3 years, thus is why he was moving to a new apartment in Toonopolis.

His cell-phone rang and vibrated in his pocket, and he took off his headphones and pulled it out. "Like, hello?" Shaggy asked, his voice being the only thing that never changed. "Oh hi, Charlie! ...Yeah, I just arrived in the city, I'm heading to the building now. ...Room 515, Paradise Towers. ...Oh yeah, I'm up for it! I'll call you when he arrives,"

Shaggy hung up the phone and walked over to the curb, calling for a taxi, and getting a ride to his apartment complex.

The apartment building was 10 stories high, built of sturdy bricks. Most of the rooms had their own balconies, and it had a large backyard which connected another apartment building, Trueblood Plaza. Shaggy arched an eyebrow at the second apartment's title, as the name sounded familiar to him, but he shrugged it off, grabbed his bag, paid the driver, and entered the building.

"Why, hello there, young man." came a voice, and Shaggy looked over, seeing a kind-looking old man sitting behind the desk. "My name is Mr. Goodwill. How can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Shaggy Rogers. I called about renting a room here, three weeks ago." he told the man.

"Oh, yes! Your room is 515, on the 5th floor. ...Oh, and I hope you don't mind, but you'll be having a room-mate. Another young man moved in last night, offered to split the rent."

"Like, that's okay. Someone else is coming to live with me anyway, so an extra roomie is no big deal."

"Oh, good! I always enjoy the company. Here's your room-key plus a spare, enjoy your stay!"

"Thanks!" Shaggy made his way towards the elevator, waving to Mr. Goodwill as the doors closed, and he went up to the 5th floor. Stepping off, he walked down the hallway, passing by a few characters.

"I don't care, Leonard, I still think it's unnecessary to move into a new apartment," A tall young man with short hair, wearing a 'Batman' T-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt was saying to a shorter young man wearing square-glasses and a jacket over a Star-Trek T-shirt.

"Then you shouldn't have taken the job of working on a project at another university for the next six months." The other man, Leonard, replied. "How do you expect to get anything done 1,000 miles away, Sheldon?"

"That's why Skype was created..."

Shaggy moved along, heading to his room, entering it. He noticed someone moving boxes from the living room to the kitchen, one box blocking their face. "Hey. You must be my room-mate," he said, walking in and shutting the door.

"Yeah, well, I ain't the janitor." came a familiar, Brooklyn-accented voice. When the person sat the boxes down, Shaggy got a good look at him- he was a well-built man of 21, with black hair that seemed to go down his neck, wearing a gray fedora, black open-vest over a red shirt, a pair of gray jeans, black boots, and a belt with a picture of the sun on it. Shaggy nearly didn't notice him... and the man was surprised to see him as well. "What the...? Shaggy?! Shaggy Rogers?! Tell me I'm not hallucinating..."

"Pugsy! Zoinks, long time no see, man!" Shaggy ran up and quickly hugged his friend, then shook his hand. "Like, I nearly didn't recognize you- you've really changed!"

"So have you- been growing out that goatee, I see."

"Yeah... and it's not the only thing that's grown. Check you out- you've really shot up since I last saw you!"

Pugsy shrugged. "So I went from five feet to six-and-a-half, it's not that big of deal. 'Course, one bright side is no one can make 'short' jokes about me anymore,"

They walked over and sat on the couch. "Like, what brought you to move in here? I thought you were working as a DJ in Burbank!"

"I took a job transfer. I was living with my girlfriend, Shelly, until I decided to move out."

Shaggy's eyes widened. "You and Shelly are dating?"

"I used to- but after one shout-fest too many, we decided to call things off, I packed up my stuff, and moved in here."

"What about the rest of your friends? Biff, Kim, Fangs... what are they up to?"

Pugsy shrugged. "We went our separate ways two years ago. Biff and Kim got engaged and are living somewhere in the city, and Fangs got a job as a security guard at the mall... He's been working there for a while, and so far no trouble- not even as Fangface! ...What about your gang?"

"Fred and Daphne are working on a new talk-show in New York, and Velma is working at a university here in the city. Scooby, on the other hand, stayed in the city. He and Scooby-Dee started a family, and he decided to settle down,"

"Nice. What about you? What brought you to the city?"

Shaggy shrugged this time. "I figured since everyone else moved on with their lives, I might as well too. I landed a delivery job, so that's a start."

Pugsy nodded, leaning back. "So, it's come to this, huh? Our gangs split up, yet you and me end up sharing an apartment... heh, makes me think of that one summer in Burbank, where you always stayed over at my place, remember?"

Shaggy chuckled. "Yeah... man that was one crazy summer. Remember the Go-Cart Incident?"

Pugsy sneered. "I've been trying to forget. ...The only difference now, though, is Flip ain't around."

Shaggy paused. "Um... actually..."

*Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!*

Pugsy arched an eyebrow, walking over to the door. "Who could that be?" he asked, and opened the door...

"Hi. My name is Flip Chan... I'm looking for Shaggy Rogers?" said a young Chinese boy of 12, with sleek black hair, wearing a blue hat with a white rim, a matching blue jacket, a red tie and jeans. With him was a bookbag, and a large suitcase.

"Over here, Flip!" Shaggy called.

"Flip? Seriously?!" Pugsy said, surprised.

"Yeah... say, you look familiar." Flip replied, looking at him curiously.

"He should... we spent a whole summer at his house, and going through life-scarring hi-jinks." Shaggy replied. "Right, Pugs?"

Flip blinked several times. "Pugsy! Wow, great to see you! I didn't expect to see you here... or see that you grew almost 2 feet!" he exclaimed, hugging Pugsy.

"Heh heh, great to see you too, kid. ...What are you doing here?" Pugsy asked Flip, while giving Shaggy a questionable look.

"I'm going to school here. I got a special scholarship that allowed me to transfer to the Detective School For Adolescents, located here in town!"

"Oh, so your family moved to the city, huh?"

Flip sadly shook his head. "No... it's just me. Henry and Stanley are in college, and the rest of my siblings are still going to school back home. My dad thought it would be a good opportunity for me, and I'm only 20 miles from home,"

"I see... so, uh, where are you going to live?" ...he asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Yeah, I was about to tell you that. See, Charlie Chan called me up last month. Since we're close friends and I'd be moving to the city anyway, he asked if I wouldn't mind taking care of Flip during the school-year... and, um, I took the offer." Shaggy explained, then gave a weak chuckle. "B-But, you won't have to worry about it! I'll cover his side of the rent, and everything!"

"Relax, Shag. I ain't worried... I just didn't expect to have an extra room-mate," Pugsy replied with a shrug, and tussled Flip's hair. "Besides, Flip's not tough to manage... just so long as he doesn't rope us into any catastrophe's, heh heh."

Flip scoffed. "C'mon, Pugs, it's been three years! I've matured since then," he replied. "Besides, we're living in a nice apartment in a quiet neighborhood, in a city where barely anything happens. There's no way we're going to be facing any kind of trouble,"

d~b

_~Meanwhile...~_

Mr. Goodwill was whistling as he polished the top of his desk, when suddenly the door opened. In walked a man with a bald head, sporting a long red mustache, and wore a black-and-red suit with a gold trim going around the collar, down the front, and around the waist. "Good day, sir! I've come offering a business proposition for you!" the man said. "My name is Doctor Robotnik, and I'd like to purchase this building!"

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. A lot of people live here, I can't just sell it." Mr. Goodwill replied.

"Oh, well that's what I meant! I'd like to manage this place! Take it off your hands and run it myself. I saw that you had a 'New Management Wanted' sign out front." Robotnik took out a sign which had the words 'New Management Wanted' sloppily written on it (with crayon, and the 'N' was backwards).

Mr. Goodwill shook his head. "I'm afraid not. You'll have to look somewhere else."

"I'll give you 2 million dollars for it." He held up a suitcase full of money.

Mr. Goodwill's eyes widened, with dollar-signs in them. "Hot Diggity, you've got yourself a deal!" he quickly took the suitcase of money, shook Robotnik's hand, and ran outside.

Halfway down the sidewalk, he was surrounded by police cars. "There's the bank-robber! Freeze!" One cop shouted, as they all pointed their guns at him.

Mr. Goodwill raised his hands and dropped the suitcase, and the police hauled him away. "Wait! This is all a big mistake!" he cried out.

"Yeah, yeah, tell it to the judge!" Another cop sneered.

Back in the apartment lobby, Robotnik chuckled, then opened the door. "Alright, boys! Bring it in!" he shouted.

In walked his two henchmen, Scratch and Grounder, who pulled a wagon filled with gizmos covered with a white sheet. After them came two new recruits of Robotnik's: Horace and Jasper, who were carrying a large crate. "I *urk* still don't like this idea, Jasper..." Horace grunted.

"If you want to go back to kidnapping pups for crazy women, be my guest!" Jasper retorted. "As long as this job pays, we're stickin' to it!"

Robotnik rubbed his palms together, leading everyone to the basement. "I've been planning for this day... Soon, all my hard work will pay off, and there's not a single blue hedgehog around to ruin it!"

"Yeah, talk about a lucky break!" Scratch agreed.

"So, uh, what's the plan again?" Grounder asked.

"We will set up a giant laser to destroy the city, threatening to use it on every city within a million miles unless my demands are met! ...You know, typical 'super-villain' planning. Only this time, no one is around to stop me! Ha ha ha ha haaaa!"

d~b

Meanwhile, Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip were unpacking, when suddenly Shaggy just got a chill. "Anyone else feel a draft?" he asked.

d~b

**A/N: And there's Part One of the pilot! Next part, we're introduced to some old-and-new characters, and see just how well Robotnik's plan succeeds ;)**

**Please review! No flames please!**


	2. Pilot 2: New Plot, Old Trouble

**And now for part two!**

**d~b**

_Pilot_

_"New Home, New Friends, Old Trouble"_

_Part Two_

"So you're going to a detective school, huh?" Pugsy asked Flip as they unpacked.

"Yeah, my school had some special SAT tests for students going into middle grade this year. I scored high enough to earn a scholarship to the detective school here, so it hardly cost anything." Flip explained.

"Must be pretty exclusive,"

"Basically. I heard the Hardy Boys attended it when they were my age!"

"Things sure have changed, huh?" Shaggy replied. "When I was your age, the gang and I didn't go to a school for sleuthing, we learned in the field."

"So did I, but I want to be a professional like my dad someday... He even gave me his old jacket and hat!" Flip pointed to his new attire.

"I wondered why that outfit looked familiar," Pugsy joked.

Flip walked over to the balcony, looking out at the backyard. "This is a pretty cool place. Is it alright if I look around?"

"Sure, but don't talk to strangers, and don't be gone too long." Shaggy replied.

Flip rolled his eyes. "Geez, Shag, I'm not a little kid. I'm 12 years old now!"

"The rules still apply until you're 18." Pugsy remarked. "Go ahead and explorify, kid. We'll be cleaning up in here,"

Flip walked out, walking down the hallway. He passed by a humanoid dog wearing a rimmed hat and blue suit, standing next to a legamorphic rabbity-thing. "I gotta hand it to the Geek, Max, she really knows how to relocate. Now we don't have to worry about any radioactive cockroach nests!" the dog was saying.

"Yeah, but now what are we going to use for shooting practice, Sam?" Max replied, then looked and grinned at Flip. "Hey, kid, you doing anything this afternoon?"

"Easy, Max, don't scare the kid- he's already a pre-teen, so it's too late for any life-scarring,"

"Aw, man..."

Flip quickly turned around and decided to head back to the room. "Maybe I'll look around later... AFTER the crazies are back in their rooms," he said to himself, looking back to make sure Max wasn't following him.

*BUMP!*

"Oof!" Flip collided with someone and fell back, landing on his rear. He looked up, seeing a figure carrying a stack of boxes that covered their face.

"Whoops! Sorry there, kid. Kind of hard to see where I'm going." the person replied.

Flip stood up, brushing himself off. "It's okay, I'm alright,"

"Oh, good. Hey, am I anywhere near Room 512?"

Flip nodded. "Yeah, it's actually right behind you."

"Whew! That's a relief, I thought I'd have to carry these boxes another 10 floors," he then sat the boxes down, rubbing his sore arms, and Flip got a good look at his face... which looked very familiar.

"Oh. My. Gosh..." Flip gasped, his eyes wide. "Shawn K.?"

"Oh, you recognized me... wait... Flip Chan, is that you?" The game-show host exclaimed, smiling.

"Is there a problem out here, Flip?" Pugsy asked, poking his head out the open door with Shaggy.

Shawn turned. "Shaggy!"

"Shawn!" Shaggy exclaimed, stepping out, and the two men gave each other one-armed hugs. "Like, long time no see!"

"You too, Shag... and who's your friend? He looks familiar,"

"I'm Pugsy, remember?" Pugsy replied.

"Pugsy! Wow... I didn't recognize you. You've really grown!"

Pugsy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I've been getting that a lot (God forbid it turns into a running-gag)."

"So, like, what brings you by, Shawn?" Shaggy asked.

"Well... I'm actually moving into an apartment, here in the city." Shawn K. explained. "I've decided to take a break from the celebrity lifestyle for a while and settle down... and it seems we're neighbors!" Shawn paused just then. "Um... is Flip alright?"

They looked at Flip, who still had a wide-eyed, smiley-face expression, and had been completely silent. Pugsy nudged him, and he shook his head. "Huh? What? Oh yeah, we're going to be neighbors! That's going to be cool." the pre-teen said quickly.

Shawn chuckled. "Well, I'd better finish moving in my stuff, before my room-mate locks me out,"

"You have a room-mate?" Shaggy asked.

"Oh, yeah! I should introduce you," he opened the door to his apartment. "Hey, Ted! Come out here, there's some friends I'd like you to meet!"

"Alright, coming on out!" replied a voice, and out stepped a man in his late 40's, with blonde-brown curly hair, and wearing a yellow shirt dotted with red hearts. He smiled when he saw Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip. "Well, hi there!"

"Guys, this is Ted Sven. Ted, these are my friends,Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip. They came on a game-show of mine, and bowled with me a few times. Shaggy also used to be an announcer on 'The Price is Right' with me."

"Nice to meet you," Pugsy said as they shook Ted's hand.

"Hey, nice to meet you guys, too! I can tell we're going to be swell neighbors!" Uncle Ted said, suddenly trapping Shaggy in a head-lock and giving him a noogie, then let him go.

"Like... swell..." Shaggy replied, rubbing his head.

"Well, see you around! I've got to finish organizing my Socks In A Can collection," With that, Uncle Ted walked inside.

Shawn smiled, shrugging. "You'll get used to the noogies. It's his way of saying 'hello'." he explained.

"How did you guys meet?" Flip asked.

"Well, he's actually Howard Generic's brother-in-law. The family moved out here some weeks ago, and Uncle Ted- as everyone calls him- rented an apartment and was looking for a room-mate," Shawn then took out an 8x10 glossy of him and Ted at a bowling alley. "We were on the same bowling team for 8 years, too."

"Like, cool! Looking forward to being your neighbor," Shaggy said.

"Which will take a while until we finish unpacking," Pugsy added.

"Alright, see you guys around!" Shawn said, then carried his boxes into his apartment.

"See you!" Flip answered, as the guys walked back to their apartment.

"Like, I can't believe it," Shaggy whispered.

"That we're living across the hall from a celebrity friend?" Pugsy asked.

"No... that Flip didn't have one of his fan-boy freak-outs like he used to!"

"Well, the kid's grown up. He's probably maturated enough to see Shawn as a regular person, and not some big-time star,"

They closed the door behind them...

"I'M LIVING IN THE SAME BUILDING AS SHAWN K!" Flip exclaimed, then passed out with a grin on his face.

Pugsy sighed. "Spoke too soon," he walked over and picked Flip up by the back of his shirt. "You've REALLY got to outgrow this, kid."

"Oh, like you've never done the same thing..." Flip scoffed.

"Just get unpacking!"

"Yeah, guys, these groceries aren't going to put away themselves!" Shaggy replied.

Pugsy arched an eyebrow. "We didn't buy groceries..."

"What do you think I packed?" Shaggy opened up his suitcase, where a few bags of groceries popped up.

Pugsy shook his head. "Still got that gluttonic eating habit, I see."

"...And you're still making up words for your own vocabulary, I see." Shaggy turned towards the cupboards in the kitchen, which was connected to the living room where Pugsy and Flip were organizing a few things. Shaggy reached behind him, grabbing some potato chips someone was handing him. "Lets see, these can go here..." he was handed some bread next. "This up there..." he was handed a case of soda next. "This goes in the fridge..."

The camera zooms out, showing a kid with black hair, red jacket, white shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and a white cap handing him things out of the bag, casually. Shaggy had yet to notice her, until she handed him a watermelon.

"Like thanks,"

"No problem," The kid replied.

Shaggy turned, setting the watermelon on the counter... then froze and turned around, but the kid was gone! "Gah! What the...? Who the...?!" he stammered.

"What is it?" Flip asked.

"There was a kid standing there a minute ago!"

Pugsy arched an eyebrow, then pointed at Flip. "Yes... and now he's standing _here_," he remarked.

"No, a different kid! He had black hair, and was wearing a white cap, and- and-"

"Ah, I think you pulled a brain-muscle while moving," Pugsy replied, picking up a large box. "How would a kid get in here?"

"Hello!" The same kid exclaimed, popping out of the box Pugsy was holding!

"GAH!" Pugsy screamed, dropping the box which tipped over, the kid rolling out and landing on one knee.

"Ta-da! Welcome to Paradise!" the kid chuckled. "Get it? 'Paradise'? Because that's the name of... the... ah, forget it."

"Who are you?" Flip asked.

"Ah, of course! Forgot the intro. My name is Zee Isaiah Pugnacious- or ZIP for short- Zippy for a nickname. ...And for the record, I'm not a 'kid', I'm actually 21. Nor am I a 'he', I happen to be female. ...Any questions?"

"Yeah. How the heck did you get in here?" Pugsy asked.

"The balcony door was open,"

"But... how'd you get in through there?! We're over 200 feet high!" Shaggy questioned.

"What, you think I'd waste my perfectly-trained ninja-skills in Suburbia?" Zippy did some karate-poses as she said this.

"Why didn't you just, oh I don't know... _knock on the door like a normal person_?!" Pugsy demanded.

"Because, my simple-minded neighbor, as you couldn't tell, I'm not normal. Plus, I like to make an entrance..." she turned and grinned dreamily at Shaggy. "Especially when meeting someone tall, thin, and hansom."

Shaggy cautiously took a step back, then moved Flip in front of him.

"So you're 21? Gosh, you look to be my age!" Flip said to her.

"Yeah, well, when you're short, everyone makes that mistake." Zippy replied with a shrug.

Shaggy turned to Pugsy. "We never made it with you," he commented.

"Shut up," Pugsy snapped.

"By the way, what shall I call you three?" Zippy asked.

"I'm Flip, this is Shaggy, and that's Pugsy." Flip replied.

"Pugsy, huh? ...Looks like I'll have to change my surname again," Zippy then headed to the balcony, stepping out. "Well, I'd like to stay and chat, but I have a killer hamster I must tame. Adios!" She then dived off the balcony- zipping back up into the air on a hang-glider!

The guys only looked out, confused. "...I think she's cool." Flip commented.

"I think she's crazy." Shaggy replied.

"I think... I'm going to install a good security system," Pugsy finished, and they got back to work before anything else weird happened.

d~b

Meanwhile, in the basement of the building, Robotnik stood before his henchmen as they worked on a machine, hidden underneath a giant, white sheet. "Hurry up with that machine, boys! We need to have it up on the roof by tonight!" he barked.

"Um... why didn't we just build it on the roof, first?" Horace asked.

Robotnik rolled his eyes. "Because people would notice it being built, get suspicious, call in authorities, and ruin the plan before it would even get plugged in!"

"Oh. ...But, um, how are we going to get it on the roof without it being seen?"

"We just tell everyone it's a new TV antenna."

"Why can't we just tell them that AND build it on the roof?"

"BECAUSE THEY'D SEE THE BLUE-PRINTS AND FIND OUT WE LIED! NOW SHUT UP AND GET BACK TO WORK!"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh!"

"Boss, I still don't get it." Scratch spoke up. "If we tell everyone it's a TV antenna, how will we threaten them with it? I doubt everyone would be terrified of a chunk of medal that brings in cable-access,"

"...Unless it's all educational," Jasper pointed out.

"They'll be threatened when we _fry half the city with it!" _Robotnik snapped.

"Ah... okay. I get it," Scratch replied.

"There's one thing I want to know," Grounder piped up.

"What?!" Robotnik snarled, growing very impatient with his henchmen's idiocy.

"...how are we going to fry the city with a TV antenna?"

Robotnik slapped his forehead. "It's NOT an actual TV antenna, it's a LASER- oh, forget it. I'm going out for some fresh air!" With that, the mad genius stormed out of the basement, before his migraine could kick in.

The henchmen continued their work. "...You think it'll bring in the anime channel?" Scratch asked.

d~b

Robotnik stepped into the backyard, breathing in deep... then began to hack and cough. "Ack! Confound this fresh air! I was hoping those animated 'enviromental' flicks would have annoyed people to the point of smogging up the skies!" he muttered to himself, walking across the yard. "Oh, no matter... the world will be mine by tomorrow, so I'll fix that little problem.

"Soon, my invention will be complete... and with Sonic nowhere within miles, a hidden lair in the most unexpected location, and my sky-rocketing genius, my plan will not fail!" he continued as he stood in front of the building. "And no one will be able to stop me after tonight! No one, I say! NO-"

"HEADS UP!" came Flip's voice... along with a descending whistle.

"Eh?" Robotnik paused, seeing a shadow covering him...

*CRASH!*

...and was soon flattened by an air-conditioner. "...owie..."

Moments later, Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip immediately rushed out the door. "There it is!" Shaggy exclaimed, and they ran over and picked up the air-conditioner.

"Wuh-oh..." Flip gasped, seeing the flattened Robotnik. "We're sorry, sir. We were just installing an air-conditioner, but it slipped... are you ok-"

"YOU BLITHERING DUNDERHEADS!" Robotnik shouted, popping back into his regular, hefty shape and screaming in their faces. "YOU NEARLY KILLED ME!"

"...I'm sorry we didn't," Pugsy said to the audience, then turned to Robotnik. "Calm down, sir. It was just an accident! It won't happen again."

"You'd better hope not! If any of you three pull something like this again, you'll be living on the curb!" Robotnik then stormed back inside.

"Man, what a grouch," Shaggy scoffed.

"Next time we should drop the bathtub on him," Pugsy commented, and they headed back inside.

"FLIP!" came a shout just then, making them pause in the doorway... and suddenly Flip was caught in a hug by a girl with brown hair, wearing a blue headband, sweater, and dark-blue jeans. "It's been so long!"

"H-Huh?" Flip stammered, confused.

The girl pulled away. "Don't you remember me? Holly? ...Holly Trueblood?"

"Holly? ...HOLLY!" Flip smiled. "Oh my gosh... I almost didn't recognize you! What are you doing here?"

"I live in 'Trueblood Plaza', next door. My Aunt Katrina inherited it last summer- it belonged to my grandpa,"

"Oh, still stuck living with her, huh?"

Holly shook her head. "Not really. She... she disowned me last month."

"What?! That's awful!" Pugsy replied.

"Why would she do that?!" Shaggy demanded.

"Well, after making the payments on the building, she believed she couldn't afford to take care of two girls... by that, I mean she wouldn't have enough money for her weekly shopping-sprees. Actually, the complex could only be owned by members of the Trueblood family- Katrina figured disowning me would increase her chances of keeping the place, but it didn't. Luckily, the will stated I could live in the apartment until I'm 18, under a legal guardian... and someone living there took me in."

"Oh, good. Who?" Shaggy asked.

"Melody. She's friends with my best friend Dotty's sister Pepper, makes good money playing gigs with her band at the cafe down the street, and has experience taking care of kids," Holly turned to Flip. "What about you, Flip? Are you living here?"

"Oh yeah. I'm living with Shaggy and Pugsy while I go to a detective school!" Flip explained.

"Awesome! So we'll get to see each other every day!"

"Heh, yeah, it's going to be great."

"Well, I have to get back and help Melody with dinner. See you later!" she took off, waving to Flip.

Flip chuckled, smiling dreamily as he watched Holly leave.

Pugsy, jokingly, let out a flirtatious growl, nudging him while bouncing his eyebrows.

Flip swatted him with his hat. "Oh, shut up!" he sneered, then went inside.

Pugsy and Shaggy chuckled. "Kid's been here for twenty minutes and already he's taking after me," Pugsy remarked.

"God help us," Shaggy joked, earning a glare.

d~b

Later, once they got their apartment set up, the guys began to lounge around the apartment. Pugsy was watching television, Shaggy was making himself a 3-foot hero-sandwich, and Flip was reading a comic-book. There was a knock at the door just then, as Shawn K. stepped in. "Hey, you guys feel like playing some baseball out back?" he asked. "I'm playing on a team this weekend, and thought I could get some practice in."

"Sure! Sounds good to me," Shaggy replied, and the guys followed him out, seeing Uncle Ted was joining as well.

"Ah, I love re-living the nostalgic days of playing catch," Uncle Ted said. "Lets just hope I don't relive too much, and break any windows!"

The guys all laughed, heading downstairs and to the backyard.

Unaware that, on the roof, Robotnik was standing there, watching as his four henchmen carried a giant laser-gun through the door, pushing it through as if it were rubber, and collapsing once they set it down. "No, no, no! Turn it to the west!" Robotnik ordered. His henchmen did so, and he rubbed his chin. "A little more to the left... keep going... there!"

Horace, Jasper, Scratch and Grounder sighed with relief, and once again collapsed.

The evil scientist then turned towards the view of the city. "Now, all we have to do is fire up this machine and melt Toonopolis! ...lets see, should I start with Central Park, or Maple Street? Or the freeway?"

While no one was looking, a tall figure with brown hair, wearing a purple mask, wide-rimmed hat, a long, torn coat, wearing a high-tech utility belt, climbed onto the roof, then unplugged the machine, before slipping back into the shadows.

"I've got it! I'll start with that corner where that annoying mime does his stupid acts!" Robotnik then got behind the controls of the laser-beam. "Ready... ai- oh heck with it FIRE!" he pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"What the...?!" he pulled the trigger, hit buttons, flicked switches, but nothing seemed to be working. "What's wrong with this thing?! What did you simpletons do?!"

"It wasn't us, boss!" Scratch replied.

"Yeah, we just carried it up and plugged it in!" Grounder added.

Robotnik looked over every detail, until he noticed the unplugged plug wasn't plugged. "Oh DID you?!" he sneered, then slapped his two robotic henchmen across their faces so hard, their heads spun. "IDIOTS! You have to pay attention to every single detail, otherwise NOTHING will work!"

While he was chewing out his henchmen, the same masked figure snuck over to the machine... and spilled a cup of coffee on the controls, before sneaking away.

"Now, no more screw-ups!" Robotnik sat back down at his machine. "This time, failure isn't an-" he pushed a button... and suddenly it blew a fuse, smoke billowing in his face. "*cough* option! *hack!* Gah! Darn it, you morons! I told you, if you're going to take coffee breaks, take them AWAY from the hazard-zone!"

"But we haven't had coffee since this morning!" Horace retorted.

"Oi, you don't think someone's out to sabotage our plans, do ya?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, please! As I keep repeating, there is NO ONE who can ruin our schemes!" Robotnik scoffed. "Now FIX THE MACHINE!"

d~b

In the backyard, the guys were having a good time playing baseball, chatting as they did. "You know, I have a nephew about your age, Flip. He'll be coming by next weekend!" Uncle Ted said, pitching the ball to Flip at second base, who tossed it to Shawn at the pitcher's mound.

"Oh, cool. Flip can have someone to hang out with," Shaggy replied, playing the umpire.

"When he's not making goo-goo eyes with Holly, you mean." Pugsy joked, coming up to bat.

"...And how many girls have YOU'VE dated?" Flip sneered.

"And imaginary ones don't count!" Shaggy joked. Pugsy raised the baseball bat, and the coward yelped and ducked behind his glove.

"C'mon, lets just stick to the game and keep the teasing to a minimum," Shawn coaxed, ready to pitch the ball.

"Hey, wasn't another one of your friends coming, Shawn?" Uncle Ted asked. "We need someone to cover third-base,"

"And cover it I shall!" Zippy exclaimed, running across the yard.

"Oh... crud," Pugsy muttered, while Shaggy gulped.

"You know Shawn K.?" Flip asked Zippy.

"Heck yes! I once worked as a body-guard for him for five years... until I was forced to retire early for being too brutal with his fan-girls," Zippy replied, then pounded her mitt. "Now, lets play some ball! Strike 'im out, Shawn."

"Zippy, be nice..." Shawn coaxed.

"Ah, you might want to back up a few blocks, ZIP, I'm going for a record," Pugsy bragged.

"Heh, yeah- for loser of the year," Zippy remarked.

Shawn shook his head, then pitched the ball, and Pugsy hit it with a might *crack!* and it soared through the air. "Whoa, look at it fly!" Flip exclaimed.

"Watch where it lands- that's my only baseball!" Uncle Ted said.

d~b

Back on the roof, Robotnik and his henchmen had finished wrapping up every detail of the machine. "Alright... is it plugged in?" he asked.

"Yep," Horace replied.

"No coffee-spills?"

"Nope," Grounder replied.

"No... rabid ferrets hiding in the gears?"

"None..." said a bruised-and-scuffed-up Scratch.

"Alright, now for the umpteenth time... NO ONE shall stop me!" Robotnik declared, and fired up the laser-beam.

*CLANG!*

Unfortunately, a baseball flew through the air and struck the beam, making it twist and shoot the glass on a window, ricochette off a metal door, off some glass bottles...

*ZAP!*

...and back at the machine itself, frying it into ashes... as well as Robotnik. The henchmen hurried over, helping their boss back on his feet. He stood there, then began to fume, bending over and clutching the baseball. "Grrrrr... WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!" he demanded, then looked over the roof.

...seeing the guys standing there. "Uh-oh... it's Grouchy McCrabapple," Shaggy gulped.

"YOU IDIOTS! NOW YOU'VE DONE IT!" Robotnik shot down the stairs and zipped right out in front of Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip. "You've just destroyed something I've been working on for MONTHS now! You are hereby dismissed from the apartment!"

"Whoa, dude... you can't just kick them out. It was an accident!" Zippy sneered.

"Yeah... plus the Landlord Handbook states that you can't really kick them out unless the INTENTIONALLY destroyed your property, caused damage to their apartment, violated some sort of health code, are three months behind in rent... or felons." Shawn K. said, holding up a handbook. "...unless you AREN'T the landlord, and we have to call in the authorities?"

"OF COURSE I AM! I just-! They-! It-! ARRGGH!" Robotnik seethed. "Fine! ...But I'm warning you... one more slip-up, and you're outta here!"

"Goody," Pugsy sneered. "Can we have the baseball back, now?"

Robotnik chucked the ball on the ground, then stormed inside.

"You know... despite we have a total goon to deal with, I think I'm going to like living here." Flip said.

"And we'll see to it you stay," Zippy said, standing close to Shaggy. "No one can split you from us THAT easily,"

Shaggy only whimpered.

Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder came running down just then. "Hey, have you've seen our boss?" Grounder asked.

"Fat guy, red mustache, bad temper?" Pugsy asked.

"Yeah,"

"He went inside,"

"Who are you guys?" Uncle Ted asked.

"We're, uh... the apartment's handymen!" Jasper replied, quickly. "We do maintanence work around the building,"

"Gee, I feel comfortable," Pugsy remarked.

"Want to join us for a baseball game?" Shawn asked.

"Sure!" All the henchmen exclaimed. They all covered the remaining positions as the camera zoomed out, showing the mysterious masked figure watching from above, smiling.

d~b

Inside, Robotnik sat at his desk, looking over a list of residents... highlighting Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip's names in red. "Those three will surely get in the way of my plans! I'll see to it they won't be staying here for long... soon, 'Paradise Towers' will become their personal-"

*CRASH!*

*THONK!*

A baseball crashed through the window and hit Robotnik upside the head, knocking him out!

"FOUL!" called Shaggy's voice.

d~b

**A/N: Yep, it's a new season... with a new twist! Basically each episode will feature Robotnik having some scheme, whether it's trying to find a reason to kick the guys out, or take over the world...**

**Also, Shawn K. is now a regular character, as well as Uncle Ted, Holly and the new OC, Zippy! Hope you guys enjoy their appearances!**

**Yep, going to be one heck of a year for the guys XD**

**Please review, and hope to see you in the next episode!**


	3. Ep 2: Flip's Bully Problem

**And we're back with another episode... which introduces another new, recurring character- and antagonist. Enjoy!**

**Credit again to Mr. Cartoon for his idea and help.**

**d~b**

_Episode 2_

_*Flip's Bully Problem*_

It was a quiet-

*CRASH!*

...Scratch that. It was anything but a quiet morning in Paradise Towers, as Flip gave a jolt, hearing the noise in the kitchen. "What the heck...?" he said to himself, running out, finding Pugsy slammed against one of the lower cupboards underneath the island-counter in the kitchen, pots and pans littered around him. "Pugs! What happened?"

"Shaggy just sealed his death-wish, that's what happened!" Pugsy sneered, then pointed up at a cupboard where they kept the cereal... where a boxing-glove attached to a spring dangled out.

Flip helped him up, watching as the older man ripped the boxing-glove and spring off the shelf. "Well, you have to admit you'd do the same thing if you had a dog who kept swiping your snacks,"

"Flip, three years ago, I had a lanky pin-head of a friend who came over and ate any groceries I brought home every weekend, but I didn't resort to setting traps... although... that would have been a good idea."

Shaggy walked out just then, yawning and stretching. "Like, what's going on, guys?" he asked drowsily- snapping awake as Pugsy stormed up to him.

"If I find another one of your booby-traps in the kitchen again, you're going over the balcony!"

Shaggy yelped. "Like, sorry man! But if someone breaks into the house, I don't want anything valuable to get swiped!"

"Who the leaping ignorpotomases could break in here?"

*flush*

Everyone looked over at the bathroom, and out stepped their neighbor, Zippy. "Oh, hey guys. Hope you don't mind, but I had to use your bathroom- mine flooded over last night." she walked over to the balcony... where a Zippy-shaped hole had been cut in, and she put in the missing piece as if it were a puzzle, sticking a glass-cutter in her pocket, then gave a salute to the others before diving off the edge via bungee-cord.

Pugsy blinked. "That doesn't count," he said quickly.

"How does that NOT count?!" Shaggy demanded.

"Because she's not a burglar... she's just crazified!"

"Thank you!" Zippy exclaimed, springing back up on the bungee-cord before dropping back down.

Flip shook his head. "I'm going to get dressed. Holly and I are hanging out today,"

"Oooh, hanging out with your girlfriend, huh?" Shaggy asked, smirking.

"Oh, knock it off already, guys! I told you, we're just friends!" he walked in his room, shutting the door, but smiled to himself. "...for now."

"We heard that!"

"Alright, Shaggy, are there any OTHER traps I should know about?" Pugsy demanded, getting back to the subject at-hand.

Shaggy pondered a minute. "No, I don't think so. I think it was just the one in the kitchen,"

"Good," Pugsy then walked into the bathroom.

Shaggy then gasped. "Except that one in the shower-"

*BAM!*

*THUD!*

"SHAGGY!" came Pugsy's shout from the bathroom, making the lanky young man cringe in fear.

d~b

Meanwhile, in the apartment across the hall, Uncle Ted sat in an easy-chair, watching television. Shawn K. walked out, heading for the front door. "I'm heading to the beach, Ted. You sure you don't want to tag along?" the latter asked.

"I'll catch up with you later, Shawn. My nephew, Derek, is going to be here in a short while." Ted replied.

"Alright, see you around!" With that, Shawn K. walked out, heading over to the two elevators that awaited in the hall, stepping in one and going down.

In the other elevator, someone was just coming up. The doors opened and out stepped Howard Generic, with his now-13-year-old son, Derek. "I don't see why I can't stay home..." the teenager was muttering, running a hand through his buzz-cut hairstyle and sticking his hands in the pockets of his torn jeans. He snorted a bit, picking his nose then wiping it on his torn-sleeved dark blue shirt.

"I believe we've discussed this after your mother and I came home to that party you were throwing, last weekend." Howard replied firmly. "Besides, your Uncle Ted loves hanging out with you!"

"Well, why does it just have to be me? Why didn't Bobby or the twins come too?"

"Bobby's had summer-camp and your mother is taking the twins to play-dates, I told you that... Honestly, Derek, sometimes I wonder if you're even listening to me."

Derek only scoffed, and they walked down the hall to Uncle Ted's apartment, knocking on the door. Uncle Ted answered it quickly. "Hey, there's my full-grown nephew!" he exclaimed, then greeted Derek with a noogie. "How ya doing, Derek?"

"*urk* fine!" Derek grunted, pulling out of his grip.

"I'm running late for work. I'll pick you up this afternoon, Derek. Be good, and have fun!" Howard said, walking down the hall.

"Geez, dad! I'm not a little kid! Sheesh!" Derek sneered, walking into the apartment.

"Ah, the independent teen-years... wanting to be alone, treated like a grown-up, trying to be cool- something I never understood," Ted said, then clapped his hands together. "So! What do you feel like doing, Derek? How about if you and I go get a smoothie?"

"Pass," Derek sat down on the couch and took out a Nintendo DS, putting all of his focus into a videogame.

Ted shrugged. "Alright, if you change your mind, I'll be down the block!" With that, he left.

"Whatever,"

*beep beep beeeeep... thpth* went the DS until the screen turned blank.

"Ah, c'mon! I charged this thing six hours ago!" Derek chucked it across the room. "Lousy piece of junk..." he then walked out of the apartment, taking an elevator downstairs and going outside. "Whatever, I'll just go find an arcade somewhere." he passed by the backyard, where Holly Trueblood was sitting in a lawn-chair, reading.

...That's when Derek back-tracked a few steps, looking over.

"Hubba-hubba!" he said to himself, immediately entranced by Holly's beauty. Licking his hand and running it through his hair in a slick manner, he strutted over. "Think it's time I took up a new hobby..."

Meanwhile, Flip was walking over to Holly, carrying a couple snow-cones from a passing vendor. "Here you go, Holly," he said to her, handing her a cherry snow-cone.

"Thanks, Flip. Man, I can't believe summer's already over," Holly said with a sigh.

"Yeah... But, at least this time, we'll still get to see each other,"

Holly smiled at him. "Aw, Flip-"

"Hello, lovely lady," Derek stated as he shoved Flip aside, taking a seat next to Holly, while the tween got his face stuck in his snow-cone. "I'm Derek Generic- just moved to town. What might I call you, besides sexy?"

Holly cringed, leaning away from him. "Um... Holly Trueblood,"

"Holly Trueblood? Should be Hottie Trueblood..." Derek smiled suavely- that is, if grinning like a creepy elf was considered 'suave'.

"Excuse me, I was sitting there..." Flip stated, wiping the snow-cone off his face.

"Beat it, shrimp!" Derek spat at him, then turned back to Holly. "So, how's about you and me get lunch?"

"How about, 'no thanks'? I already ate lunch... and I'm about to lose it," Holly sneered.

"Derek Generic..." Flip muttered to himself, the surname sounding familiar. "Are you related to Howard Generic?"

"Yeah, now shut it and scram already, twerp! Can't you see I'm talking to this..." Derek snarled at Flip, then turned to Holly speaking in a calm tone. "...divine young beauty?"

"I see that, and I think you should lighten up how you speak to my friend, you're creeping her out."

"Yeah, what he said." Holly agreed.

"Ah, forget what he said... lets talk about us, sweetheart."

"Lets not... in fact, don't even think it, either." Holly stood up, walking away. "I'll see you later, Flip. I'll come back when Pest Control removes the rat,"

"Holly, wait-" Flip tried to say, but Holly already took off, and he was suddenly grabbed by the shirt-collar by Derek. "Yipe!"

"Way to go, dork! You just made my future prom-date ditch me!" Derek growled.

"I-I didn't do anything! Let go of my shirt!"

Derek smirked. "Alright... how about if I grab on to THIS instead?!"

In a swift motion, he spun Flip around, grabbed the hem of his underpants, and yanked them over his head! "YEOW!" Flip screamed, then found himself kicked to the ground! "OOF!"

"And that's just a sample of what you're going to experience, if I catch you around my girl again!" With that, Derek walked off. "Now, where'd she run off to?"

Flip lied on the ground, groaning weakly. _Wham-bam... I'm in a jam... _he thought.

d~b

Back in the apartment, Pugsy was giving a thorough inspection for any more traps...

*THUD!*

...mostly by accident. "A trip-wire in the _closet, _Shaggy?!" he questioned, standing up after having tried stepping into the closet to retrieve his fedora.

"A _walk-in _closet, Pugs." Shaggy corrected... only to get swatted with the fedora.

"Are there any MORE traps you forgot about?!"

"I swear, that's the last one! ...Except for the one in the freezer. And the oven. And the ceiling-fan. ...I think that's it."

"Get to work- I want this place de-trappified by the time I get back from work!" With that, he began to walk off, though turned around back to the kitchen, putting some bread in the toaster. "Better make something quick for breakfast, first."

Shaggy gasped. "Pugs, wait-!"

*POW!*

Another springed boxing-glove shot out of the toaster the moment Pugsy pushed down on the lever, knocking him out. Shaggy gulped. "I forgot... I rigged the toaster, too... Pugs? ...Pugsy?" he looked down at his unconcious friend. "I'm in trouble."

Just then, the door opened, and Flip walked in, looking depressed. "Hey, Shaggy... has Pugsy left for work, yet?" he asked.

"Um..." Shaggy tapped his fingers casually/skittishly on the counter, looking back down at Pugsy, lying on the ground behind the island-counter, out of Flip's sight. "H-He's out at the moment, yeah. Why, what's the problem?"

Flip sighed, sitting down on the couch. "There's this new kid, Derek. He was acting like a total jerk to me and Holly... then he gave me a wedgie and kicked me to the ground,"

"Oh no, I was hoping I could've avoided talking to you about bullies... *sigh* Well, I guess I could share some advice. I had a bully at my school in Coolsville, named Red Herring. He was a jerk too, but me and the gang managed to handle him."

"How?"

"Just outwitted him- he would try to do something sneaky, but we all just kept our cool, ignored him, and his tricks would backfire in his face. Sometimes, Scooby managed to play some tricks on him, back. So, don't worry too much, Flip- just do what I did, and you'll be fine."

"What did you do?"

Shaggy thumbed behind him. "Ran like heck while getting on good terms with God."

Flip sighed. "Thanks, Shag... I guess." Flip then headed into his room.

There was a groan, and Pugsy stood up. "What hit me...?" he muttered, looking at the toaster, then slowly turned and glared at Shaggy...

...who bolted for the door, running. "God in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven-!" he was saying quickly as he took off down the hall.

Pugsy, of course, pursued. "You'd better pray I don't catchify ya, pinhead!"

d~b

Flip went back down to the backyard later that morning. He walked over to a basketball court, deciding to shoot some hoops, when suddenly he found himself being shoved to the side! "Waah!" he cried out, before hitting the ground. He turned around, glaring. "Hey! ...oh no..."

"Watch it, dipstick!" Derek sneered, bouncing a basketball. "I called dibs on the court, already!"

"I was here first!"

*Bonk!*

Derek bounced the ball off Flip's head. "I said, I called 'dibs'. That means, I own the court until I decide to get off!"

Flip stood up, brushing himself off. "Look, lets compromise. Maybe we could play a little one-on-one, keep things even,"

Derek scoffed, smirking. "Sure, I think we can work something out..."

Within minutes, Flip suddenly found him stuck in the hoop, Derek brushing his hands together. "There. How's the weather up there, twerp?"

"H-Hey, get me down!" Flip stammered.

"Why? I bet the view is nice,"

"No, this thing's all rusty! Any minute it might-"

*Snap!*

*Thud!*

"...break..." Flip grunted, after the net broke off and he fell... having landed on Derek. Quickly, he stood up. "Are you alright?"

Derek growled. "Not until I get my hands on you!" he snapped, standing up.

Flip gulped, then deciding it was best to take Shaggy's advice... and run.

d~b

In the apartment, Robotnik was having his lackeys load crates into the basement. "Careful with those crates!" he hissed. "They're full of tubes, filled with nicroglycerine! If you tip over just one, it'll blow us to smitherines!"

"We're under enough pressure already, thank you!" Jasper retorted, as one-by-one they walked down to the basement, Robotnik following...

Zippy walked in, whistling casually, then held up a bowling ball, which she threw down the basement stairs. "Into storage you go!" she exclaimed.

*BOOM!*

A mushroom-cloud appeared through the doorway. "Huh, manager must be bombing for roaches," she stated, then headed for the elevator.

Flip stumbled in by this point, his hair messed up, shirt and jeans torn, his tie wrapped around his head, his hat crooked, and he was missing a shoe. "I need to take up track..." he groaned.

Zippy turned, bewildered at his condition. "Yikes, Flip, you look like you lost a wrestling match against a blender! What happened, did Pugsy catch you going through his CD collection?"

"No..."

"Oh, good, because he doesn't like it- believe me."

"I had a run-in with a creep named Derek Generic. He was picking on me outside, tried shoving me through a basketball hoop until I fell on him, and he chased me down the block until he caught me at the crosswalk! He's such a jerk..."

"Ah, bullies, never been a fan of them."

Flip walked with her into the elevator, going up to their floor. "Did you have to deal with bullies too?"

"Yeah, but it was more on a verbal level- that is, up until I showed them my katana collection and scared the daylights out of them," Zippy shrugged. "Got me expelled, but then again I wasn't supposed to be going to an all-boys boarding school in the first place... Anyway, I think I could give you some pointers."

Flip couldn't help but give a nervous expression. "It doesn't have anything to do with katanas, does it?"

"Oh no no no... I won't teach you about that until you're 15. No, I think you just need to learn how to handle this Derek kid. Think: what's the one tactic every bully uses?"

"Violence?"

She shook her head. "Intimidation. Don't run away next time- instead, next time he tries giving you any grief, just look him in the eye, stand your ground, and show him you're not the weakling he mistakes you for. And if push comes to shove, that's when you give him a good ol' fist to the face!"

"I don't know... I'm not much of a fighter."

"Yeah, but HE doesn't know that! It's all attitude." The doors opened, and they walked down the hall. "Speaking of attitude, I have to take care of a rabid gerbil infestation in my kitchen drawers. ...But, if you need someone to strike some fear into Derek's heart, give me a call."

Flip gave a jolt. "Um... I-I think I can handle it now, thanks."

She shrugged, then entered her apartment. Flip continued to his own. _Whoever bullied that girl must've lost a bet! _he thought.

Meanwhile, back downstairs, Robotnik and his lackeys stumbled out the basement, looking charred. "What now, boss?" Scratch coughed.

"Well... we'll go to Plan B once the color returns to my vision... until then... take five..." Robotnik groaned, passing out.

d~b

Later that afternoon, Pugsy sat with Uncle Ted in his apartment. "So, what brings you by to visit, Pugs?" Ted asked.

"Just waiting for my room-mate to clear out the traps, before someone rips off _Home Alone_," Pugsy answered. "Be lucky you don't have problems like that with Shawn,"

"Oh, every set of room-mates have something to argue about- with Shawn and I, it's always where I keep my novelty items. I like to set them up in every room, and he says he doesn't want all the miniature lawn-gnomes lining the walls of the bathroom, but we manage to make compromises."

"Yeah, well, at least none of your knick-knacks knocked someone out," Pugsy rubbed his jaw as he said this.

There was a knock at the door just then. "Come in, it's open!" Ted called.

In walked Flip, still in his ragged state. "Hey, Pugs, any reason why Shaggy's duct-taped pillows to his chest and is wearing a helmet and crawling everywhere?" he asked.

Pugsy's eyes widened. "Forget Shaggy- what happened to you?!" he gasped.

"Yeah, Flip-o, you look like you lost a wrestling match with a blender!" Ted added, his statement sounding familiar to the tween.

Flip sighed. "Some jerk is hanging around the backyard. He keeps pushing me around. I tried running from him, but... well, he caught me, obviously."

"C'mon, lets head over to our place and get you cleaned up, you look like a wreck." Pugsy stated. "I'll give you some tips on how to stand up to your bully, too."

Flip paused. "It doesn't involve a katana, does it?"

"What?"

"N-Nothing,"

"I'll come by once my nephew gets back- he's a tough kid, and could give you some pointers!" Ted told them as he walked them out, his statement full of irony.

d~b

Flip had changed into some clean clothes, and was holding an ice-pack over his black eye. "...and after he shoved me into the lamp-post, he tried to hang me with my own tie," the tween was stating. "He took off when Officer Tibbles was passing by."

"The way I see it, Derek is just a brute," Pugsy stated. "Guys like him always pick on guys weaker than him, just so he can push them around and make them do their bidding,"

"Sounds like someone I know," Shaggy scoffed, walking by with a football helmet on his head and pillows strapped to his chest, carrying a broom.

"Get back to checking for traps!"

Shaggy yelped and ran to the next room.

"Zippy said I should try being intimidating, so he'll back off." Flip continued.

"Well, she's only half-right... meaning she might have half an ounce of sense in that wacko mind of hers." Pugsy replied. "You can try to be intimidating, but what matters is that you've got to stand up for yourself, whether you scare them or not. I'll teach you a couple self-defense moves to use, too, when he tries to rough you up,"

*Knock knock!*

"...Which will have to wait till later, sounds like Ted is coming in," He walked over and opened the door... suddenly being yanked forward, given a noogie.

"Hey, five minutes sure seems to fly, doesn't it, Pugs?" Ted chuckled, releasing him.

Pugsy put his hat back on. "Yeah... too bad..."

Ted then turned to Flip. "Hope you're feeling better too, Flip. My nephew would like to meet you,"

"Okay," Flip replied. "Who's your neph- eep!"

Uncle Ted stepped aside, allowing Derek to enter. "Well, look who it is!" he said with a smirk.

Flip paled instantly. "Pugs... I could use a quick self-defense lesson now..." he whispered, earning a confused look. "That's Derek, the bully I told you about?!"

"I see. Wait here, Flip. Ted, mind if I have a word out in the hall with you?"

"Sure thing, Pugs." Ted replied, following him out.

"Flip, why don't you show Derek some videogames?"

"Do I have..." Flip began to ask quickly, but a firm glance from Pugsy warned him not to argue. "Okay."

Once the adults were out, Derek turned to Flip, cracking his knuckles. "So, where's the videogames, dweeb?" he asked.

"In the cabinet, under the TV," Flip sighed, pointing over at the TV stand.

Shaggy was walking out by this point. "Whew, I think that's every..." he began to state, though paused when he saw Derek kneeling in front of the cabinet under the TV. "Uh-oh! Kid, get away from-"

*SPLOT!*

A water-balloon was suddenly launched out, soaking Derek! "Yech! What the...?!" he sputtered, then turned towards Flip. "So, thought you'd pull a joke on me, huh?!"

"No! It wasn't my fault, I swear!" Flip stammered, but Derek was already coming his way. Without hesitation, he bolted for the door.

Meanwhile, Pugsy was telling Uncle Ted about all Flip had told him about Derek's bullying. "...So you'd better have a talk with Derek about all this," he was saying. "Because if Flip comes in looking like that again..."

"Don't worry, Pugs, I'll have a talk with him," Uncle Ted replied. "Besides, Derek's a good kid, deep down. He's just adjusting to moving to a new town. Why, I bet if you give it time, he and Flip will be great friends!"

"AAAUUUGH!" Flip screamed, bolting out the door and running down the hall.

"GET BACK HERE, DORK!" Derek shouted, running after him!

Shaggy rushed out, panting. "FLIP! I forgot to mention- if all else fails, play dead!" he called.

Pugsy looked at Ted. "O-kay, so maybe it's going to take a while..." Ted replied with a shrug.

Flip raced down the hall, coming to a dead end. "Oh, why is it that in a moment of crisis, someone always ends up in a dead end?!" he whimpered.

"Because they're dead meat, is why..." Derek replied, approaching him and raising his fist. "Hold still, and I might make it quick-"

"Something wrong here, boys?" came a voice.

Derek turned. "Ah, none of your-" his eyes widened just then. "Your-your- _you're Shawn K!"_

Shawn K. crossed his arms. "Yes... and I would like to know why you're cornering one of my friends,"

"Friends? Him? You?"

"Yes... now answer my question, please."

"Huh? Oh! Yeah... well, Flip and I were just messing around, is all!" Derek put his arm around Flip, making him flinch. "Ain't that right, _buddy_?"

"If you call trying to kill me 'messing around'!" Flip sneered.

Derek shoved him aside, and stepped up to Shawn K. "By the way, I'm a huge fan of 'Who Wants To Be A Cartoon Millionaire'- I once won a chance to go on that show, do you remember?"

"I never forget anyone who breaks the bleeper after cussing out when missing a question," Shawn K. deadpanned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to speak to Flip- alone."

"Oh, right! Anything you say, Mr. K! ...Hey, can you wait around? I want an autograph!" Derek took off.

Shawn K. turned to Flip, who sighed heavily. "Bully problems?"

"Yep," Flip put bluntly.

"Lets walk outside and talk." They walked down the stairs, and into the backyard, Flip telling Shawn K. about the miserable day he had since Derek arrived, and the advice each of his friends gave him. "So he's been at it all day, huh? I may have some advice of my own to share,"

"I can't outrun him, I don't know self-defense yet, and unless Zippy lends me her katana collection, I can't intimidate him. What else can't I do?"

Shawn K. looked at him. "What Holly did this morning- turn and walk away,"

Flip gave him a surprised look. "That's it? Just walk away? W-What if he calls me a wimp?"

"What he would call being a wimp, I believe is being wise. He may be strong, Flip, but you can be stronger by turning the other cheek, walking away. And if he assaults you, that's when you call on your friends for help- another wise move only the strongest rely on."

"But... what if he doesn't stop? What if he keeps tormenting me?"

"Then keep coming to us for help, we'll always be around. And don't worry, sooner or later he'll back off- especially since you've got an all-star like me, a tough-guy like Pugsy, and a trap-setter like Shaggy on your side... Zippy can be used as a last-resort, if he gets _too _brutal," he patted Flip on the shoulder. "Think you can do all that?"

Flip nodded, grinning. "Yeah... Thanks Shawn,"

Shawn gave a nod, then headed back inside. By this time, Holly came running up. "Hi, Flip... sorry for ditching you this morning, but I couldn't stand Derek's smarmy remarks," she told him. "I hope you can forgive me..."

"Of course I do!" Flip replied, then took her hand in his own. "But next time he talks like that to you, I'll-"

"Ah, you've finally returned!" Derek exclaimed, shoving Flip aside once again as he stood before Holly. "Couldn't handle being away from me all day, could you?"

"Sure, Derek, I can't handle a day without out," Holly said sweetly, linking her arm with his...

*WHAM!*

...flipping him onto the ground! "So lets try a whole lifetime!" she then walked over and helped Flip up. "You were saying, Flip?"

"Um... never mind," Flip replied, seeing that Holly clearly knew how to handle Derek, and they walked off.

Derek lied on the ground, looking up at the afternoon sky, a goofy smile appearing on his face. Howard Generic walked over, a bit stunned to see his son sprawled on the lawn. "Derek! Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Derek only continued to grin. "I'm in love..." he sighed, dreamily.

d~b

"So Shawn helped you out, huh?" Pugsy asked Flip later that night, as the trio sat on the couch, watching television.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll have many problems with Derek anymore," Flip replied, then turned to Shaggy. "Did you get rid of all your traps, Shaggy?"

"Yep! And I'm one-hundred percent sure of it, this time! Every room is absolutely clear of traps!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"Good, now maybe I don't have any horrifyable wake-up calls." Pugsy replied, then stood up, stretching as he walked towards his room. "Speaking of which, I'm heading to bed."

Shaggy froze. "...oh no..."

*Twang!*

*Thud!*

"SHAGGY!" came Pugsy's bellow.

Without hesitation, Shaggy shot out the door. "See, Flip, the key to outrunning your enemy is to get a head start!" he called quickly, bolting down the hallway, while Pugsy raced after him.

Flip shook his head, then clicked the remote, turning off the TV, and the episode.

d~b

**A/N: Yep, looks like we've got a lot of running gags to keep track of- Shaggy setting up traps not being one of them (Pugsy made me sign a contract on that- darn it)**

**What's in store in the next chapter? Stay tuned to find out!**


	4. Ep 3: Robotnik's Crush

**And now for an episode with a twist that will, most likely, leave you laughing. **

**It was inspired by that Spongebob episode, "Krusty Love", though this season I'm trying to keep things as original as possible... no promises, though.**

**Enjoy!**

**d~b**

_*Episode 3*_

_Robotnik's Crush_

_(Or, The Most Horrifying Thing To Imagine)_

It was a beautiful day at Paradise Towers...

"HORACE! JASPER!"

Which was immediately ruined by Robotnik's bad mood. The villain/manager was standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking quite angry- which wasn't really new- as two of his lackeys came stumbling down the stairs, out of breath. "Yes, boss?" Horace asked, between gasps of air.

Robotnik took in a deep breath. "Do you remember how every morning, I like to have a nice, raspberry jelly-filled danish for breakfast, complete with a cup of coffee, sitting on the desk for me?"

"Yes. We put it there like we do every morning," Jasper replied.

*WHACK!*

Robotnik swatted them across their faces with a rolled-up newspaper. "YOU FOOLS!" he then held up the danish. "This is a CHERRY danish! I specifically asked for RASPBERRY! I don't want a cherry danish for breakfast!"

"Cool, I'll take it," Shaggy said, walking by and snagging the danish on his way out the door.

"You owe me $2.50!" Horace called to him.

Robotnik then held up his coffee. "And I like my coffee to be _decaffienated_! How can I remain in a bad mood all day if my coffee perks me up?!" he snarled, then dumped it on the two lackeys. "Mess this up again, and I'll be putting you both in charge of bathroom maintanence on the ground floor!"

(We then get an image of a moldy-looking bathroom, where the Creature from the Black Lagoon is poking his head out of the toilet, before sinking back in)

"Y-Yes sir." Horace gulped, while Jasper only rolled his eyes.

"Now GET TO WORK!" Robotnik snarled. "I want that death-ray we ordered built by tomorrow afternoon!" With that, he kicked the two lackeys down the stairs!

Robotnik sat at his desk, smiling. "Ah, I do love being a slave-driver... No one else can be as cruel as I am!"

Suddenly, Scratch and Grounder came through the door... looking dented and their limbs bent around each other in a pretzel formation. "Morning, boss..." they both groaned.

"Scratch! Grounder! You should have been here two minutes ago!" Robotnik arched an eyebrow. "And have you've been playing _Twister _again?!"

"No, sir. We were out back, finishing up the mowing you wanted us to do at 5 AM. We went over behind the other apartment building, barely an inch on the property, when the manager of the place came out and lashed out on us!" Grounder replied, then gave Scratch a glare. "And it didn't help that THIS yut decided to argue with her!"

"I just said the old hag should stop wasting her breath on us, and use it to kill the weeds in the yard! ...You made it worse by claiming the building was in worse shape than they were!" Scratch argued.

"You're the one who tried running her over with the lawn-mower!"

"Well, you're the one who made fun of her dress size!"

"ENOUGH!" Robotnik bellowed. "I'll deal with this manager myself... If anyone is to dismantle my lackeys, it's me!"

Scratch and Grounder watched him go, then looked at each other. "Well, lets go have Horace and Jasper untangle us,"

"Yeah, my nose is starting to itch..." Grounder tried to reach for his nose... problem was, his drill/hand was bent behind Scratch's head, while the other was bent where his left wheel should have been. "Mmf! Mmf! Help me out here, Scratch!"

Scratch tried to reach, but both his hands were twisted together behind Grounder's back. Both of them wiggled around, until they suddenly rolled across the floor, and towards the stairs to the basement!

*CRASH!*

"...ow..." both of them groaned.

d~b

Robotnik stormed over to the apartment next door, Trueblood Towers, to give the manager a piece of his mind about abusing his lackeys (without his permission).

"I'll teach that hag what happens when they mess with any lackey of Doctor Robotnik's! Anyone who would dare to do so would be the most stupid, lame-brained, ignorant-" he was muttering to himself, storming through the doors of the building... where he stopped short, his eyes growing bubbly as his anger melted away. "...beautiful, gorgeous, lovely piece of work ever to be put on earth!"

Holly Trueblood happened to be walking by as Robotnik said this, then followed his gaze. He was looking at a red-haired woman in a green dress, putting on lipstick while propping her feet on the desk. Said woman was none other than Katrina Stonehart, Holly's step-mother and former-caretaker.

"...Yikes." Holly whispered.

By this time, Flip Chan walked in. "Hi, Holly, ready to go?" he asked, then paused when he noticed Robotnik standing there, with a goofy expression. "Uh, hey Robotnik... you okay?"

"Hubba dah boo wah..." Robotnik stammered for a bit, then snapped to his senses, turning to the kids. "Flip! Do you know that woman behind the desk?"

Flip sneered. "Unfortunately. That's Katrina Stonehart," he replied.

"She's my old step-mom," Holly added.

"Step-mom? ...oh, she's married..." Robotnik sighed.

"Oh no, she's single."

"What happened to the husband?"

Holly rubbed her arm. "I'd rather not talk about it..."

"Wait, Robotnik... are you interested in her?" Flip asked, surprised.

"NO!" Robotnik snarled, then looked over at Katrina, who was now checking her hair in a mirror, and he got a dreamy look in his eye again. "Er... well... maybe. So what if I am?!"

"Well... why don't you go say 'hi' and introduce yourself?"

"Introduce myself! My boy, I am _Doctor Robotnik_! Genius in the mechanical arts, and ambassador of mankind! I need no introductions!"

"Alright... then just go say hi," Holly said, bluntly.

Robotnik turned toward Katrina, who was now reading a magazine. "Um, well... I just forgot, I need to go back over to the building and do some, um, manager-like things, so it'll have to be later."

"Nervous, huh?" Flip guessed.

"Of course not! I just said I'm busy!"

"Okay... I'll go over and break the ice for you, then." With that, Flip walked off!

"NO, WAIT! ...oh, that kid is going to ruin my image..."

Flip walked over to Katrina. "Excuse me, Miss Stonehart?"

"What do you want, kid?" Katrina sneered, barely looking at him.

"I was wondering if you'd be interested in meeting a frie... I mean an acquai... The manager of the apartment I live in,"

"Ugh, if it's the idiot who hired those robotic stooges, forget it."

"Wait here!"

"What the...?! I said forget-"

Too late, Flip was back with Robotnik- who was looking quite nervous and sweaty at the moment. "Katrina, this is Doc-"

*Thud!*

Robotnik made a face-plant on the ground, stiffly. Flip stood him back up. "This is Doctor Robotnik."

"Er... hi." Katrina replied, arching an eyebrow.

Robotnik said nothing. "Psst! Robotnik! Say 'hello'..."

"Guggleblurble meepleboob," Robotnik stammered, unable to speak.

"Uh... I'm going to call Security," Katrina said, reaching for the phone.

"Meezletug!"

"...What?"

"Hold on, I think he's trying to say something!" Flip replied, then turned to Robotnik. "Go on, Robotnik! Use your words..."

"Uh... Flubber ribby gatta gooba!"

"Um... I don't speak idiot," Katrina sneered.

"I think he's saying... he wants to... lock you in a crate!" Flip guessed.

"WHAT?!"

"NAH! Flibber rubber tooga noob!" Robotnik yelled at Flip.

"...Punch you in the face!" Flip guessed again.

"You louse!" Katrina snarled.

"ZIPPA! DOOLAH DOOLAH! GOOG!" Robotnik bellowed, trying to pronounce every incomprehensible word carefully.

"No wait! He wants to take you..." Flip began.

"...meeky-doo."

"...On a DATE!"

Robotnik pumped his fists, smiling then leaned against the desk, reprieved that the message finally got out. "Is that true, Robotnik? You want to take me on a date?" Katrina questioned, deadpanned.

"Yes..." Robotnik sighed.

"Well, in that case..."

*BOOT!*

Robotnik found himself flying out the doro, landing in the middle of the street!

"NOT ON YOUR LIFE!" Katrina bellowed, then stormed back inside.

"Aw, too bad... they would have made a vile couple," Flip said to Holly as they walked along.

"Yeah, though I'm upset at you, Flip." Holly said, crossing her arms.

"Me? Why?"

"Well, I know Robotnik tends to be bitter towards everyone... but that's still no reason to try to set him up with Katrina! You should show him some mercy,"

"True... but... it just looked like he really liked her. Maybe, if he managed to get a date, he wouldn't be so grumpy! Katrina would probably be nicer too, don't you think?"

"...Or they'd both unite to make our lives miserable, but I see your point." Holly looked back at Robotnik, who walked into the apartment. "After all, no one deserves to be turned down like that,"

"I've got it! Lets set them up on a blind date!"

Holly looked at Flip, as if he just offered to jump in front of a truck. "Are you nuts?! We could get killed!"

"We'll only get killed if we get caught. C'mon! I have an idea..." Flip rushed to his apartment.

Holly followed, sighing. "That's what I'm afraid of..."

d~b

Meanwhile, downstairs, Pugsy was walking home from work, whistling as he walked through the lobby-

"NO WHISTLING IN THE LOBBY!" Robotnik shouted, startling him a bit, the villain more grouchy than he originally was (for obvious reasons involving getting shot down like a duck during duck season-) "AND NO NARRATIVE COMMENTS!"

...Sheesh.

"Sheesh is right," Pugsy agreed with the narrator. "What's your problem, Robotanik?"

"It's _Robotnik_, you twit! Learn to speak right, otherwise your rent goes up!"

"That's not a good excuse to increase someone's rentification!"

"That's it! From now on, I expect $500 a month from you!"

Zippy happened to be walking in from the backyard just then, walking a gray cat. "Whoa... what did you do to cheese off Robotnik, Pugs?" she asked.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! ...AND NO CATS ALLOWED IN THE BUILDING!"

Zippy blinked several times, rubbing her finger in her ear. "Sheesh, dude, lower the volume- you're going to break the caps-lock! And I thought pets were allowed in the building?"

"Not unless you want to pay an extra $1000 dollars per month!"

"What?! I already pay $200 dollars extra!"

"Well the price just went up, Pugnacious! NOW SCRAM!"

Zippy picked up her cat, she and Pugsy both giving Robotnik a glare before walking into the elevator. "Geez, what a jerk- and people say I have a bad temperament!" Pugsy sneered.

"Yeah, I've seen better manners from Monty Python's killer rabbit!" Zippy agreed, stroking her cat. "Someone ought to give that guy a kick in the pants- isn't that right, kitty?"

"Meow," The cat replied.

Pugsy shook his head. "I'd leave it alone- ticking him off more would just make things worser," he replied. "Trust me, I know."

"How do you know?" Zippy questioned.

"People have been doing it to me for years!"

The elevator doors opened, and Zippy followed him to his apartment. "Still, someone should put Robotnik in his place- just because someone's in a bad mood doesn't mean they should take it out on others,"

Pugsy gave her a look. "You mean like how you hit me in the face with a Frisbee just because your computer blue-screened?"

"That was and accident- I was aiming for Scratch."

Pugsy rolled his eyes and they entered the apartment, seeing Flip and Holly sitting at a table with paper and pencils. "What are you two doing?"

"We're going to set up Robotnik with a blind-date," Flip told him.

Zippy and Pugsy gave them confused looks. "...Come again?"

"He tried to ask out Katrina, but she turned him down... so we're going to make it to where they meet up at a restaurant," Holly replied.

"Then maybe they'll be nicer," Flip added.

"...Or unite and make us all miserable," Zippy deadpanned.

"That's what I said, but Flip still wants to try," Holly said.

"Flip, I don't think you should get involved in this sort of thing," Pugsy told Flip.

"Why not?" Flip questioned.

"Because you're too young to be attempting suicide!"

"Oh, they won't know it's us! I think it's a good idea,"

"You know, I think the kid has a point. ...It'll get Robotnik off our case for a while, at least." Zippy replied.

"Maybe... The way Katrina is, he'll probably be scarred for life so badly, we'll have to get a new manager," Pugsy replied, smirking.

"You guys want to help?" Holly asked.

Pugsy shook his head. "Nah, I'm going to listen to my common sense and NOT get involved," with that, he walked to his room.

"Yeah, and I promised Shawn K. I'd go with him to the lake- he needs someone to steer his jet-ski while he hang-glides," Zippy added, walking out.

"Shawn K. is a brave man..." Holly commented.

"Oh yeah... Well, I got the letters written."

"Good, where do you keep the stamps?" Holly asked.

"I think they're in the computer desk," Flip and Holly walked over to the computer desk, looking around for the stamps.

...Not noticing Zippy had snuck back in, grabbed a pencil, and erased the name of the restaurant's address on each letter, changing it, then quickly going out the screen door and jumping over the balcony!

Flip and Holly walked back over and- not noticing the change Zippy made to both their letters- and stuffed them each into an envelope, putting the stamps on them. "Okay, you deliver Katrina's, I'll deliver Robotnik's!" Flip said.

"Right!" Holly said, and they went out, putting each of the letters through the mail-slots in their apartment's lobbies. They then met up around back. "Well, it's done. Now what?"

"Now, we wait," Flip replied, and crossed his fingers. "And HOPE things go well,"

As they walked off, Zippy popped out of some bushes she fell into, spitting out leaves. "Yeah, now we wait... and see how Robotnik handles a bit of revenge," she chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Shaggy asked, suddenly standing by the bush.

"Nothing! ...You didn't hear anything from me, either!" Zippy said, then quickly ran off.

Shaggy blinked, then shook his head. "Just when I thought she couldn't get any weirder..."

d~b

_~The Next Day~_

Robotnik, still grumpy from yesterday, walked into the lobby, pushing a ladder Scratch was on while he was changing a lightbulb, causing him to fall on Horace! "Ow..." Scratch groaned.

"Oy, the boss is acting more cruel than yesterday!" Horace commented.

"I'll say... It would be nice to see him in a good mood for once!"

Robotnik was going through the mail. "Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill... Why are all these letters addressed to Bill?!" he growled, until he came to the last letter. "Wait... what's this?" he tore it open, then read it over...

Suddenly his eyes widened, and a goofy smile appeared on his face, and he emitted a wheezy, excited, high-pitched gasp.

...And it freaked out his henchmen. "I take it back. It's downright scary," Scratch commented.

"Oy, what's up with Robotnik?" Jasper asked as he and Grounder walked over, noticing their boss' doofy impression. "I've never seen him smile like that, before!"

"Maybe it's gas," Grounder whispered.

"Uh, boss? What's going on?" Scratch asked, cautiously walking over to Robotnik.

Robotnik suddenly grabbed Scratch around the wrists, and started to spin, letting go of him and prancing around the room, laughing giddily. He grabbed Jasper's hands and did a happy tip-toe dance, then pranced over Grounder, then over Horace, doing cartwheels, and twirling around.

"Blimey, he's lost his senses!" Jasper gasped.

"Grounder, quick! Get the air-filter! He must've inhaled too much fresh air!" Scratch urged.

"Ooh, I see what's going on..." Horace replied, picking up the letter Robotnik dropped. "Looky here! Someone asked Robotnik out on a blind date!"

"Let me see that!" Jasper said, taking the letter. "Who could have sent it?"

"Katrina Stoneheart!" Robotnik swooned, taking the letter and laying back on the desk, as hearts bubbled over his head. "The woman must have been overcome by my charm yesterday, and couldn't resist the urge to go out with me!"

"But I thought she booted you out like a soccer ball!" Grounder questioned.

"She must've been too shy to say yes... and decided to send me a letter!" Robotnik curled up on his desk, hugging the letter like a teddy bear, smiling and giggling.

The lackeys stared at their boss, becoming quite uncomfortable. "Um... okay boss... we'll, uh... we're going to go work on that death-ray now..." Jasper said, and the henchmen quickly ran down to the basement.

Robotnik only continued to lay on his desk, rolling left and right now, still laughing giddily.

Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip happened to be coming down by this time... and were also appalled to see the villain in such an unusual state. Shaggy covered Flip's eyes, and Pugsy tipped his hat down awkwardly, all of them quickly walking out of the building.

"Never speak of it?" Flip guessed.

"Right." Shaggy and Pugsy answered.

d~b

Meanwhile at Trueblood Towers, Katrina Stoneheart came across her letter. "Who's the letter from, Mom?" Her daughter, Brattina, asked. She had changed as well, now having short brown hair held back by a headband, wore a dark-green sleeveless shirt, and khaki shorts, and no longer called Katrina 'mommy-dearest' or any of that stuff that made one's skin crawl.

"I don't know... but it's from a secret admirer, no doubt." Katrina said, then patted the trim of her hair. "Which is no surprise, not too many men can resist your mother."

"Oooh! What's it say?"

Katrina held up the letter. "'My dearest Katrina, I have been bewitched by your lovely face, and must request you meet me Friday Night at 8:00 for a date, at the restaurant on the intersection of 12th and 14th Ave. Please come! I cannot go on without having a chance to bask in your glorious beauty. Sincerely, your secret admirer'. ...Huh, how more cliche can you get? Ah well, it's been a while since I've gone on a date, might as well get back into the game."

"Odd that they want to meet at that place on 12th and 14th Ave., though..."

Katrina looked at her. "What makes you say that? What's on 12th and 14th?"

d~b

_Crazy Matt's Polka-And-Rave Diner. _

Robotnik looked up at the sign, blinking, wondering why his blind date wanted to meet at such a place, sitting at a table as he waited for his date... watching as the employees, dressed in lederhosens and neon glow-necklaces, passed by from one table to another delivering orders, while techno/polka music played in the background, and a few people were on the dance-floor across the room.

"Why do I get the feeling this woman might be some sort of nut-job?" Robotnik asked himself. He shifted a bit, adjusting his tie, and checked his breath- his mustache drooping. He took out some tic-tacs, putting one in his hand... and poured the rest in his mouth. He checked his watch, seeing it was 8:10, and began to wonder if his date would ever arrive.

Just when he believed he had been stood up, Katrina walked in, wearing a lime-green dress so bright, it made the glow-necklaces look dim... in fact, a couple people went blind when the colored lights reflected off it. "MY EYES!" one man screamed, off-screen.

Katrina ignored them, looking around for any sign of her date... grimacing when she noticed Robotnik, who shyly waved to her. "Good grief..." she sneered, walking over. "Geez, Robotnik, didn't you get the hint the first time, or do I have to spell it out for you?!"

Robotnik's smile faded. "What are you talking about? You asked me here!" he looked around. "...odd choice for a first date, by the way..."

"I didn't invite you! ...Even if I did, it would be somewhere less annoying. You're the one who sent me the letter!" She dug into her purse, pulling out the letter and showing it to him.

Robotnik dug into his suit-jacket, pulling out his letter. "But you sent me a letter!" he showed it to her.

Katrina arched an eyebrow. "Wait... so if neither of us asked the other, who the heck set this up?!"

"I don't know... but as soon as I find out..." Robotnik groused, then took out a laser-gun and zapped a random employee, turning him into a pile of ash with blinking eyeballs and a glow-necklace. "They're going to end up like that!"

"Is there a problem here?" Another employee asked, walking over-

*BAM!*

Katrina punched him in the face! "Darn right there is, bub!" she snarled. "I'm getting out of here!"

"Right behind you!" Robotnik agreed, following her bitterly. "I should have known this was a trick... And as soon as my death-ray is finished, that place is the first to go!"

"Hmph, if you're going to blow up anything, blow up those animal shelters- especially anything with cute, adorable puppies! ...I hate puppies..."

"Ugh, me too- and hedgehogs! I ABHOR hedgehogs! One kept ruining my plans for world domination!"

"Yeah, well, at least you didn't have a bratty step-daughter stopping you from building a condo! The day I finally managed to disown that pest was the best day of my life! Rotten kids, all of them- except for my daughter,"

"I hear you on that- There's a child in my apartment I'm aiming to get rid of, him AND his two rotten friends! ...Wait, you said you had a daughter?"

"Yeah, from my first husband- before he was deported overseas. Why, you got a problem with me having a kid?!"

"Depends, is she anything like you?"

"Spitting image!"

"Sounds like a girl who'll break hearts!"

"FINALLY someone gets it! Not so many men can see it. What about you?"

"I have lackeys- which is almost like having kids, except without having to pay for school, and I'm allowed to smack them around."

"Hmm... You know, Robotnik, at first I thought you were just a pathetic excuse for a man... And I still see that... but I also see a vile, cruel, black-hearted scoundrel underneath all that blubber."

"And I see a vicious, loathsome, inconsiderate snob behind all that layer of dark make-up. Tell me, are you a spawn of Hades, or could they just not handle you?"

Katrina giggled. "Oh, you flatterer!"

They both chuckled, walking off down the sidewalk, towards the park.

d~b

Flip, Shaggy, Pugsy, Holly, Shawn K., Uncle Ted, Derek, and Zippy were hanging out in the park, having decided to play a game of 'fizzball'. "The rules are simple: You shake an unopened soda can, then chuck it at a person carrying a blunt intrument, and they whack it as hard as they can to make it explode in a misty spray of fizz!" Zippy was explaining.

"Zippy... where do you come up with these ideas?" Shawn K. asked, questionably.

"The Freelance Police,"

"Lets just get to it, already!" Derek sneered, holding a soda-can. "I want to smash stuff!"

"Alright, calm down kid. Just throw the can!" Pugsy said, being the first one up, holding a baseball bat.

"Heh heh, coming right at ya, dork!" Derek shook the can good, then chucked it right at Pugsy, who swung the bat hard, hitting the soda can... however, it didn't explode, but instead bounced right back at Derek, knocking him out!

Flip bit his knuckle, trying to hold in a laugh.

"Yeah, I forgot the other rule: Be prepared to duck," Zippy explained.

"Hey, Derek, you okay?" Uncle Ted asked his nephew.

"Easy squeezy lemon peasy..." Derek babbled before losing conciousness.

"O-kay, I think we should do something else..." Shawn K. suggested.

"Preferably something that doesn't involve Pugsy swinging a blunt instrument and putting people in comas," Shaggy added. Pugsy jerked towards him with the bat, making the coward yelp and dive behind Shawn for protection.

"Hey, look!" Holly gasped, pointing across the pond towards a bridge. "There's Robotnik and Katrina!"

"Gosh, I wonder how their date is going," Flip wondered. Zippy bit her lip, trying to stifle a laugh.

"Maybe we should leave, they might want to be alone," Shawn K. suggested. Everyone remained silent. "...Spy on them?"

"Yeah!" Everyone answered, and ran over to a second bridge, ducking low and watching the two antagonists, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"I never thought I'd meet such a lowdown, rotten creep in my life," Katrina said to Robotnik, then smiled. "Now that I have, I guess I have hope again,"

"As do I, Katrina." Robotnik said. "...I just wish the evening could have started out somewhere more suited to our tastes, and not some polka-techno joint."

"Polka-techno? They were supposed to go to an Italian restaurant!" Holly whispered.

"Yeah, how did they end up going anywhere else?" Flip wondered.

They heard a snicker, and looked over at Zippy. "Zippy..." Both kids chided.

"Oh, it was just a joke! Besides, it turned out well for them, right? I regret nothing," Zippy scoffed.

"I still had a good time," Katrina said... then kissed Robotnik on the lips!

Zippy's eye twitched. "Now I regret it!"

"YEOW!/EW!" Flip and Holly stammered.

"Zoinks! My eyes!" Shaggy yelped.

"Yeesh/Oh, gross..." Ted and Shawn both said, shuddering.

"*hurk!* Blaergh!" Pugsy gagged, throwing up over the other side of the bridge.

Robotnik and Katrina heard the sounds of groaning, moaning, screaming, and vomiting... but only smiled. "Ah, they're playing our song," Robotnik said.

"Sweet misery," Katrina added, smiling back.

"Lets get out of here, before we're further traumatized!" Ted stammered.

"Gang way!" Shaggy cried, running off first.

"Oh, Lord, I'm going to need therapy!" Flip whimpered.

"I saw less scary things in horror movies!" Zippy said, shuddering.

"I think I'm IN a horror-movie!" Shawn K. said.

"I think I threw up 25 pounds..." Pugsy groaned, holding his stomach, holding his mouth as he gagged again.

"That is the last time I go along with one of your plans!" Holly snapped at Flip.

"I didn't think it would backfire!" Flip replied.

"Anyone know a place where we can get our memories erased?!" Shaggy begged.

"Wait... I think we forgot Derek!" Ted said, turning around.

"It's too late, Ted! We can't turn back! ...Never turn back..." Shawn K. said, dramatically.

The group continued to run, flinching and gagging at the horrid sight they saw. Meanwhile, Katrina and Robotnik walked off, arm-in-arm.

Derek came to, minutes later. "Ugh... what I miss?" he asked... not knowing how lucky he was that he had been unconcious during the last two minutes.

d~b

Back at Paradise Towers, later that night, Jasper, Horace, Scratch, and Grounder walked out of a smoke-filled basement. "Way to go, you dolts! Robotnik's going to kill us!" Jasper snapped.

"Don't yell at us! You were holding the blue-prints upside-down!" Scratch snapped. "It's not our fault the wires got crossed!"

"Well it's YOUR fault for not catching that cat!"

A gray cat ran up the steps just then, heading upstairs.

"Oh, what does it matter? We're all sitting ducks, now!" Horace whined.

"Uh oh, here comes the boss!" Grounder yelped, and all the lackeys panicked, trying to run off, but only ended up crashing into each other!

"Good evening, boys..." Robotnik said, dreamily.

"Oh, geez, boss! L-Listen, it was an accident! The wires got crossed, then there was this cat, and- and-" Scratch stammered.

"We'll fix the death-ray! Please don't kill us!" Horace cried.

"Oh, that? ...That's alright. There's plenty of time to build a death-ray," Robotnik said, sitting behind his desk, leaning back very relaxed.

The lackeys gawked, their boss taking the news TOO well. "You mean... you're not mad?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, I'll be mad later... Why don't you boys take the rest of the night off?"

The lackeys exchanged looks- but considering they never got time off, they decided to question nothing, and bolted out the door before their boss returned to his normal, crabby self.

d~b

_~The Next Day~_

Katrina walked into the lobby the next morning. "Hello, Robotnik! I was wondering if you'd like to do lunch- perhaps we could swap ideas on how to get rid of your 'pesty child' problem," she cooed.

"Mmm, sounds good! I think this is the start of a vile relationship..." Robotnik said.

"Yes... but, um, if we're going to go steady, mind shaving that mustache? It's bothering the heck out of me," With that, Katrina walked out.

Robotnik gave a blank stare, then went down to the basement. "On second thought, I'm not ready for commitment. SCRATCH! GROUNDER! Get back to work on that death-ray!"

d~b

**A/N: I'm with Pugsy... *hurk***

**Apologies for scarring any of you for life at the end, there. Hopefully, the next chapter will be less traumatic!**

**(Thanks goes to Mr. Cartoon for lending some ideas)**


	5. Ep 4: Manic Monday

**Okay guys, it's 1 AM as I'm typing up this chapter... so it should be filled with enough insanity to make it worthwhile! :D *please pardon any typos, though***

**d~b**

_*Episode 4*_

_Manic Monday_

Monday morning... pretty much the only time in any week that's filled with dread. Kids have to go back to school. Adults have to go back to work. Something bad always happens to Garfield.

A day where anything could go wrong...

*KA-BLAM!*

Just like what was happening at Paradise Towers, the only place where some loud sound effect seems to always take place at the start of the day- and always seemed to wake up Pugsy at the crack of dawn, as what happened today.

However, it didn't come from Robotnik's secret lab in the basement, or from an apartment owned by the Freelance Police down the hall, or Sheldon Cooper's room, or a detonation squad down the street... Nope, after living in the apartment for nearly a month now, the stocky young man knew it was no mystery as to where such a sound came from.

Zippy's apartment, right next door.

Grumbling curses worth censoring under his breath, Pugsy got out of bed and walked over to Zippy's door, pounding his fist on it, then waiting arms-crossed for her to hurry up and open the door. "Yes...?" She answered casually, opening the door and poking her head out.

"What in the name of God was the sound I just now heard?!" Pugsy demanded.

Zippy cocked an eyebrow. "The... snarling, earth-shattering tone of your voice?"

Pugsy clenched his fists. "The OTHER sound..."

"My voice?"

"ZIP!"

"Alright, alright, alright! ...Sheesh, someone's humor went out the window this morning... I'm just having problem with my toaster this morning. I forgot I took out a couple circuits to use on a new type of stun-gun I made this weekend, and, POW!, the thing blows through the ceiling!" she then held up a piece of blackened bread. "...It burned my toast, too."

Pugsy gave her a glare. "If I hear any more commotion from your apartment, I'm sending you over the balcony- WITHOUT a safety net!"

"Aw, don't tell me you took it down! I was going to show Flip how to use it,"

"Just quiet down! I don't have to come back over here every morning!"

Zippy scoffed. "Please don't. Seeing your face this early could scare the Grim Reaper to death,"

"Better looking than YOUR ugly mug." Pugsy then turned and walked back into his apartment, while Zippy went back into hers.

At the island-counter in the kitchen area, Shaggy and Flip were already awake, the 12-year-old having a textbook lying in front of him, while the lanky young man was cooking breakfast. "Have another lovely chat with our psychotic neighbor this morning, I take it?" Shaggy asked, jokingly.

Pugsy only gave him a look. "Don't start..." he sat down next to Flip, pouring himself some coffee. "Bad enough things are going down at the radiostation- I don't need that ignorpotomas down the hall making things worser,"

"Like, still haven't found a partner for your time-slot, huh?"

"I don't see why I need one! Ever since Ren and Stimpy started having their own radio talk-show, the manager believes we need a two-man host for our segments! I work well enough on my own, why do I need a partner?"

"I'll bet Frasier had the same kind of problem,"

"Ugh, I can't concentrate..." Flip groaned, having been trying to read his textbook since the two men started talking.

"What's going on, Flip?" Pugsy asked him.

"I've got to study for a test tomorrow, that's what." He sighed, closing the book and drinking some orange juice.

"Why didn't you study this last weekend?"

"I tried..."

(We get a flash-back of Flip trying to study in the backyard, only for Derek to douse him with a water-balloon; trying to study in the lobby, but Scratch and Grounder drop a bunch of scrap metal that makes too large a noise- and breaks a window next to Flip's head; and finally him trying to study in the living room, only to get a call from Holly about going to the arcade, to which he quickly agrees)

"...but I couldn't concentrate," Flip finished.

"So the flash-backs prove..." Pugsy commented.

"I can help you study tonight when I get off work, Flip." Shaggy suggested. "If there's one thing I was good at doing in school, it was cramming for a test."

"Yeah- just make sure you help him pass," Pugsy looked at his watch. "I gotta get ready for work, it's almost 7:30,"

"What?! Oh man, I'm going to be late!" Flip yelped, quickly gulping down the rest of his cereal, running to his room, running out seconds later dressed and carrying his bookbag while stuffing his books in it, racing out the door. "See ya guys after school have a nice day bye!"

Pugsy shook his head, sighing. "Whoever said kids have it easy really missed out on their childhood,"

"Yeah, well, they have it easier than adults. They don't have to pay bills, buy groceries, or go to a job- which they were supposed to be at _five minutes ago_!" Shaggy was saying, looking at his watch and yelping. "Like, zoinks! I forgot I had to go in early this morning!" Quickly, he ran out the door... still in his pajamas.

Pugsy counted down on his fingers. "Three... two... one..."

Shaggy ran back in. "Gotta get dressed first!" he ran to his room, running back out while pulling on a shirt and quickly pulling a pair of shoes on, zipping his fly as he dashed out the door.

d~b

Meanwhile, down in the basement, Robotnik was watching as his lackeys worked on a top-secret machine that was hidden under a white sheet. "Be sure to get it right this time, boys! This time, I aim to succeed in my plans!" he barked.

"Yeah, that's what you said last week," Jasper scoffed.

"Shut up and keep working! If this machine fails this time, I'll-"

*Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!*

Robotnik paused, hearing someone ringing a service-bell up on his desk in the lobby. "...Ugh, what now?" he walked upstairs, seeing Uncle Ted standing there. "What do you want?"

"Oh, hey Robotnik! I was just wondering if you could have your handymen swing by and fix up the heater in my apartment. It didn't kick on this morning, like it's supposed to." Ted told him.

"Yes, yes, I'll have them take a look at it. Now unless there's something else you need, I'm returning to my work-"

*Ding! Ding!*

Ted rung the bell again. "Actually, there is! My nephew, Derek, wants to know if you plan on putting in a vending machine. A nice place like this should have one, right?"

"No! Now I have important matters to get to, so kindly beat it!" Robotnik turned to go back down the stairs.

*Ding!*

He turned sharply back to Ted. "WHAT?!"

"...Oh, nothing. I just love to ring this little bell," Ted tapped his hand on the bell, ringing it again a couple times. "It's kind of hard to resist."

Robotnik took the bell and smashed it on the floor, then stormed downstairs.

Uncle Ted looked down at the broken bell, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a spare bell, setting it on the desk and giving it one more *ding!* before heading back to his room.

d~b

Later in the afternoon, Shawn K. was lounging around out back, just in time for Holly Trueblood to walk over. "Hello, Holly. How are you doing today?" he asked her.

"Oh, just another busy school day... wishing it was summer vacation again," Holly joked.

"Heh, yeah, I know the feeling... At least, I would, if I didn't grow up as a child-star,"

"You were in show business since you were a kid, huh?"

"Well... sports-wise. It was odd- a few people notice you're good at sports, then on talk shows they think you're cut out for your own show, like some of your game-show appearances... and before you know it, you're famous before you're even out of high-school."

"Wow, I hope I can be that famous someday..."

"Oh, believe me, Holly, a celebrity life is no place for a child- where you have more paparazzi stalkers dropping by your house more than school friends, you're trying to keep up with your popularity rather than your grades, and rather than attending a graduation ceremony you're walking down the red carpet to some awards ceremony."

Holly sat down, giving a sympathetic look. "That must have been hard for you..."

"Oh, actually it was that pop-star, Whitney Gears. ...But, my point is, I think I'd rather have a regular childhood rather than having spent it more on television. It would be nice to be able to be a kid again,"

"Speak for yourself," Flip said, walking by, his tie hanging loosely around his neck, his hat crooked, and he looked worn out.

"Flip! ...Oh, don't tell me Derek did this," Holly gasped.

"Huh? Oh, no, he doesn't come by during the week. I've just been trying to study for my test,"

"Having trouble?" Shawn asked.

"Like you wouldn't believe. I tried to study at school, but we had a pep rally during study hall! I had to hurry home just so I could have a few minutes to cram before dinner,"

"I can help you study," Holly suggested. "We don't have school tomorrow because of a teacher's inservice meeting, so I can stay over."

*FWOOOSH!*

The thought of having his crush stay the night caused Flip's hat to shoot up in the air, his eyes growing wide. "U-Um, okay... I'll see if it's cool with the guys!" he said, blushing.

"Great! Give me a call when you ask," Holly said, then walked over to her apartment, while Flip dreamily walked back to his.

Shawn K. shook his head, smiling. "Ah, to be a kid again..." he said to himself.

*Plop!*

He paused, as Flip's hat landed on his head.

d~b

Pugsy was sitting on the couch, going over some applications he recieved that day for a new partner... the remaining total being two. "Hard-working husband, master's degree... in wizardry - nope, sorry, Peter Griffin." he said, crumbling the application, then looked at the other one. "Doctor Drakken... huh brother, can't I find anyone who's not on parole?!"

Shaggy walked in a minute later, looking depressed. "Like, now I know why Garfield hates Mondays..." he groaned, plopping down on the couch.

Pugsy looked at him. "What's up with you?"

"I got fired... again,"

"Geez, Shag, that's the third job this month! What happened this time?"

"Well, I was put in charge of mopping the floors... one thing led to another... lets just say Pop's Diner will be needing a new window and leave it at that," he crossed his arms. "Though I wonder why he let Johnny bring in a pet snapping turtle..."

"So it's back to the Want Ads, huh?"

"Like, are you kidding? I've gone through every job in the paper! I've either been fired from one because of a slip-up, or quit because the bus-boy acts like he broke out of an asylum!"

*BLAM!*

Pugsy cringed. "Speaking of 'asylum patients'..." he muttered, gritting his teeth as he stormed out the door. "ZIP!"

Shaggy sighed, leaning his head back. Flip walked in, having a dreamy look in his eye. "How was school today?" Shaggy asked him.

"Long, boring, and uneventful, as always." Flip replied. "Hey, Shag, is it alright if Holly stays over tonight?"

Shaggy smirked. "Ooh, having your girlfriend stay the night, huh? You little charmer..."

Flip blushed. "She just offered to help me study!"

"Okay, okay... I remember having to use the same excuse when I had a girl over too, ha ha."

"Is that the time when you had Velma come over to swat a spider, and it took her two hours to get you down from the ceiling fan?"

This time it was Shaggy's turn to blush. "Have you've been reading my highschool journal again?!"

"No, just your college one. ...So, can Holly stay over?"

Shaggy sighed. "Promise me you'll stop going through my stuff, and she can."

"Alright!" Flip ran over to the phone to call Holly.

"...And you'd better not tell anyone about that spider incident! ...and it only took her an hour and a half..." Shaggy muttered.

Pugsy walked back into the apartment... with some sort of purple ooze dripping off his face.

Shaggy noticed immediately. "Zippy try cooking again?"

"Zippy tried cooking again," Pugsy sneered, wiping the ooze off his face. "That girl could turn an easy-bake oven into a weapon of mass destruction!"

"Back in second grade!" Zippy piped up, poking her head in the door.

"OUT!"

Zippy took off, and Pugsy slammed the door shut and locked it. "Like, that girl must've been born at the Crazy Town Hospital," Shaggy commented.

"You think?" Pugsy walked into his room. "I'm lying down... before the next disaster hits,"

"...Okay, see you in five minutes!" Flip said, hanging up the phone.

"Got your 'study-date' planned?" Shaggy said, jokingly bouncing his eyebrows.

"Oh, knock it off already. The only thing we're going to do is cram for my test,"

"Like, I don't see why you need to study for a test that involves mystery solving. All you have to do is look for clues... and run as fast as you can when a ghost shows up,"

"I think it's more than that, Shaggy, my dad could tell you that much."

"Yeah, but I've been solving mysteries for years- I think, if I were you, I could ace that test!"

Flip rolled his eyes. "Only if it was in a cooking class. I'm going to go meet Holly downstairs," he walked out.

Shaggy followed him. "Now, hold on a minute! What makes you think I couldn't pass that test?! I had detective jobs before you were born, kid!"

"Speaking of jobs, I thought you had to work late,"

"...I got fired, but that's besides the point!"

"Really? Geez, Shag, you're losing more jobs than hockey players lose teeth!"

"Hey, when you're an adult, job-hunting isn't so easy- not like taking a test on mystery-solving!"

"I bet I could land a good job if I were you... maybe."

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try!"

"What are you two arguing about?" Shawn K. asked, walking up to them.

"Shaggy lost his job, and I have to study for a test." Flip answered, as they entered the lobby, just in time to see Holly. "Speaking of which, there's Holly!"

"Hey, Flip! Ready?" Holly said.

"Helping him study, huh?" Shawn guessed.

"At least that's Flip's excuse," Shaggy whispered, chuckling. Flip gave him a look.

"Oh geez, would you cut it out already?!" Flip hissed.

"Cut what out?" Holly inquired.

"N-Nothing... lets just go,"

"Have fun, guys- but not too much fun!" Shaggy joked, waving to the kids as they walked up the stairs.

"Alright, that's it!" Flip turned and stormed towards Shaggy.

d~b

While all of this was going on, Robotnik was preparing to use his machine. "Are you sure about this, boss?" Scratch asked. "I don't think we set it up right,"

"Yeah, it was kind of hard since the instructions were in Japanese," Grounder replied. "We had to go by the pictures!"

"That is why we're testing it out!" Robotnik scoffed. "Using this machine, I will take over the lives of one of those pesty residents who foil my plans, causing them to do something worthy of getting kicked out!" he then stepped behind a small door, pointing to an antenna on top of the machine. "This antenna will help channel the brain-waves, and send my thoughts into the minds of those three trouble-makers! Then... when I succeed in getting them thrown out, I shall use my machine to take over the minds of all the world leaders, and dominate the planet!"

"Always save the best for last, I guess." Horace said with a shrug.

"You sure about this, boss? What if something goes wrong?" Jasper asked.

"Nothing will! The instructions are clear- all you have to do is pull the switch, and make sure the door stays closed," Robotnik then pulled the door shut... but it got caught halfway, leaving a crack open. He wiggled it a bit, seeing that one of the hinges was busted. "Uh oh..."

"Pull the switch! Got it!" Grounder exclaimed.

"NO, WAIT-!"

*BZZZAP!*

Too late!

Electric waves shot out of the machine, stretching throughout the entire length and height of the apartment building!

Everything seemed to move slowly, as we get a view of Shaggy, Flip, Shawn, and Holly in the lobby, right at the moment when Flip was about to chew out Shaggy for humilating him. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly everyone was on the ground... dead.

*whisper whisper*

Huh, what's that?

*whisper whisper*

Oh, my mistake. They're not dead, just stunned. Sorry!

Flip sat up, rubbing his head. "Like, man, what was that?" he asked... though his voice sounded like Shaggy's!

"I don't know... maybe the lights blew a fuse?" Shaggy said... his voice sounding like Flip's!

The two paused, looking at each other... or, in this case, themselves. "ZOINKS!/AUGH!" both of them screamed.

"W-W-W-What the...?! What am I doing over there?!" Shaggy stammered.

"What are you doing over here? What am I doing over there?!" Flip yelped.

"Forget that! What happened to me?!" Shawn cried... but his voice sounded like Holly's!

"Lords a leaping! What happened to ALL of us?!" Holly shouted... sounding like Shawn!

"We... we... we've switched bodies!" Flip stammered, trying to control Shaggy's wobbling legs.

"Like, oh man... I'm going to have to go through puberty all over again!" Shaggy whimpered, clutching Flip's hat. "The awkward teenage years were bad enough the first time!"

"Well, at least you're the same gender as you were before!" Shawn stated, looking at Holly's outfit. "Goodness, Holly, do girls really have to wear this tight of jeans?"

"W-What are we going to do?" Holly stammered.

"We'd better check on the others, and make sure they're okay! Maybe someone knows what happened!" Flip stated as they ran up the stairs, though he tripped a couple times. "Geez, Shaggy, why'd you have to have such long legs?!"

"Hey, at least I'm not short, like y-" Shaggy began to remark, but was cut off by a scream.

"YEEEOOOOWWWW!"

"Pugsy!" Everyone shouted, and hurried upstairs.

d~b

"Zippy...? Zippy... Wake up!"

There was a groan, coming from under some blankets. "Not now, Pugs... I'm trying to nap, here!"

"Zee Isiaiah Pugnacious, stop faking, and tell me what the jumping ignorpotomases you did just now!"

"I never fake a nap- and how did you get into my apartment?!"

"We're... not in your apartment... Zippy, please tell me this is a joke..."

Zippy sat up, the covers pulled off her face... or, actually, Pugsy's face. "What the heck are you talking ab-" she began to demand, but froze at what she saw.

Herself!

"W-W-What the...?"

"Zippy... calm down..." came Pugsy's voice out of her body. "Remain. Calm."

That was enough to wake her up, as she gasped and ran to the the nearest mirror. "Please let me be dreaming, please let me be dreaming..." she was stammering, standing before a mirror... seeing, for a fact, that she was in Pugsy's body. Hoping it was just a hallucination, she shakily reached out his hand, touching the reflection before her.

It wasn't.

They switched bodies.

"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGGHHH!" Zippy screamed... at the girliest, highest-pitch ever. She then began to run around the room, yelping and freaking out.

"ZIP! Hold on! Wait! Hold it! Freeze!" Pugsy was calling to her, watching as she tripped over the couch, knocked over a couple chairs, and bumped into tables as she ran. He sighed, then stuck out 'her' foot, and tripped 'himself'. He then swatted 'himself' with 'her' hat. "Calm down, you psycho, before you break something of mine!"

"Calm down?! CALM DOWN?!" Zippy gripped 'herself' by her jacket. "We've. Switched. BODIES you moron! And in case you didn't figure it out, _there's nothing to calm down about!_" she began to breathe deeply. "Oh geez, I can't breathe... I'm hyperventilating... I-I-I-I think I'm going to pass out!"

"Get a grip, ZIP!"

She did get a grip- she gripped Pugsy by 'her' shoulders, tightly. "How?! Just... how the heck did this happen?!"

"If I had the answers, I'd tell ya! We just have to relax and try to figure this out... Do you think it happened to anyone else?"

The others ran through the door just then. "Pugs! Are you alright?" came Flip's voice out of Shaggy's body.

"...Survey says, yep." Zippy replied.

"ZIPPY?!" came Shawn K's voice out of Holly's body. "...well, I guess I'm not the only one who switched with a girl,"

"Zippy's a girl?" Holly whispered to Flip's body.

"Like, not anymore," answered Shaggy's voice.

"Could someone PLEASE tell me what's going on?! How did we switch bodies?!" Pugsy demanded.

"Just a simple glitch in the principles of advanced technology, my dear man." came Robotnik's voice, and everyone turned around...

...seeing Uncle Ted! "Uncle Ted? You... sound different," Flip said.

'Uncle Ted' seemed to fume. "I'm not Uncle Ted, you nitwit! My body got switched, too!"

"...Poor Ted," Shaggy said.

"What do you know about the body switches, Robotnik?" Shawn K. asked, suspiciously.

"Only that, due to a mishap, electronic waves shot throughout the building and caused everyone's brain-waves to be rearranged," Robotnik replied.

"Where did these electronic waves come from?" Pugsy asked, equally suspicious.

"From my newest- er... radio-transmitter. Yes, it's a new model, but something didn't hook up right- the directions were in Japanese, so something must've gotten mixed up."

"Okay, so how do we change back?" Holly asked.

"We'll just have to power up the machine, using the exact same frequency as before, and try to switch back... right as soon as I find my body!"

"Speak of the Robotnik, and he'll appear," Zippy commented, pointing over.

Robotnik's body walked in, rubbing his head. "Whoo! You guys won't believe what just happened to me!" came Uncle Ted's voice. "There I was, halfway up the elevator, when suddenly, ZAP!, I'm in the basement! Kind of unbelievable, huh?"

"...Not from where we're standing," Pugsy commented.

Ted looked around, surprised. "Hey, what's going on? How come Zippy sounds like Pugsy?"

"We've all switched bodies, you twit!" Robotnik shouted at him.

Ted scratched Robotnik's bald head, then looked in a mirror. "Oh! I was wondering when I suddenly grew a mustache..."

"C'mon, lets just go down to the basement and use that 'radio-transmitter' Robotnik was talking about," Shawn said.

"You mean that huge metal box with a glass door inside it and the antenna on top? I hope that's not it,"

Everyone gave him a horrified glance. "W-Why...?" Flip asked.

"The thing was a wreck when I ended up in the basement. The handymen said something about a few fuses blowing- which was easy to see, with all the smoke that was coming out of it."

"GAH! MY MACHINE IS BROKEN?!" Robotnik screamed, a horrified glance on Ted's face.

"Hey, cheer up, Robotnik! Nothing a little wrench-turning won't fix- I'll bet you'll have it up by the end of the week!"

"END OF THE WEEK?!" Everyone shouted.

"You lunkhead! We have to get the machine fixed by tomorrow!" Robotnik snapped, taking out the instruction manual. "According to the manual, if we don't get back into our original bodies within a 24-hour period, the effects will be permanent!"

"P-P-P-Permanent?!" Shaggy stammered.

"I think I'm going to faint..." Holly said, as Shawn's body began to tip backwards, though Flip reached out Shaggy's arms to keep 'her' steady.

"What the heck kind of radio transmitter were you building?" Ted questioned.

Zippy then gripped 'Ted' by the shirt. "Listen to me carefully, Robotnik..." she snarled, Pugsy's eyes glaring deeply into Ted's. "You'd better get that machine working again... because if I have to go through the rest of my life looking like THIS, I'm going to find out how far I can shove Pugsy's fists down YOUR throat!"

Robotnik's face developed a panicked expression. "Um... by 'his' throat you mean his ORIGINAL throat, not mine, right?"

"I assure you, my dear man, you'll be back in your body!" Robotnik said.

"I'm a girl!" Zippy snarled, then looked back down at Pugsy's body. "...at least, I _used_ to be..." she began shaking Ted's body. "HURRY UP AND FIX THAT MACHINE!"

"Gah! Let me go, otherwise I can't!" Robotnik pried Ted's body out of 'Pugsy's' grip, stumbling into the hall. "I shall get to work on it right away!"

"Gosh, I wonder if I can still eat nachos..." Ted said, looking at Robotnik's body.

Robotnik came back with a deadpanned expression, grabbing Ted by 'his' arm and dragging him out. "You're coming with me! I don't want you causing any damage to my body OR reputation!"

Once they left, everyone else awkwardly looked at each other. "So... what now?" Flip asked.

"I suppose we could just go about our daily routine," Shawn suggested. "Just as long as we stay in the apartment- I don't think Melody could handle hearing Holly sound like a grown man,"

"Yeah, good thing Flip invited me to stay over," Holly answered.

"Smoothe move, Flip." Shaggy said, bouncing Flip's eyeballs.

"...You do remember Holly and I are in your and Shawn's bodies, right?" Flip retorted.

'Flip's' eyes widened as Shaggy considered this. "...Every crack I made about you two, I'm taking back right now!"

"I don't think living our lives will be that simple in this saturation, Shawn," Pugsy said. "What about my job? I can't go to work like this!"

"Yeah, and I still have my test tomorrow!" Flip added.

"And I have to go home tomorrow, too!" Holly included.

"Okay, calm down! We'll figure something out," Shawn replied, trying to think.

"Good thing I don't have school or a job to go to. Guess I got off easy!" Zippy said, then walked out onto the balcony. "Good luck, guys!" She then jumped over... forgetting she was in Pugsy's body!

"ZIPPY!" Pugsy screamed.

*THUD!*

Pugsy cringed, then ran out into the hall towards the elevators to go down... however, Zippy was already coming back up, Pugsy's body bruised and scratched, with a couple leaves in his hair. "...Fine time to remove that safety net, Pugs..." she groaned, stumbling back to the apartment. "I forgot I'm not as flexible as I used to be..."

"You think?! Be careful with other people's property, you psycho! Don't forget, you're in someone else's body- particularly MINE!" Pugsy snapped.

"Hey, I get mistaken for a boy on a day-to-day basis anyway, so it was easy to forget! ...Outside of the height... and masculinity... and sex-change..." she rubbed 'his' face. "Oy, this is going to be a long night..."

They walked back into the room. "Okay, so going about our daily routines is a stupid idea." Pugsy commented. "What else can we do?"

"I guess we'll just have to stay inside the apartment until the machine is fixed," Shawn said.

"What about my test? I can't skip it!" Flip replied.

"Yeah, and I have to go back home to Melody in the morning!" Holly added.

"Why don't we just pull the whole 'live each other's lives' cliche?" Zippy suggested.

"Because I'd like to KEEP my job, for one thing." Pugsy replied. "And having a psycho like you walk in posing as me wouldn't help!"

"Like, I can take your test, Flip. Like I said, I already know a lot about mystery solving!" Shaggy said to Flip.

"...Why do I get the feeling I'd flunk, then?" Flip replied.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Shaggy." Shawn said. "Having you take Flip's test for him would be considered cheating- even if you did fail. We'll just have to call in a 'sick day' and reschedule everything,"

"Oh man..." Flip sighed. "If I miss that test, I'll flunk!"

"I'm sure your teacher will understand,"

"Unless he's gone through a body-switch, I highly doubt it." Zippy replied. "Why not give it a chance, Shawn? I think everyone would find it suspicious if several of us were suddenly staying home sick- unless we were diagnosed with some sort of epidemic."

"Are you saying this just because you care, or because you just want to make me look like an idiot?" Pugsy questioned, suspiciously.

"...A little of both, actually."

"We'll think about it. Right now, lets just... try to get the hang of things, alright? I doubt we'll have many problems," Shawn said.

"Um... I just thought of one," Holly said, crossing Shawn's legs. "...How are we supposed to use the bathroom?"

The awkward pause that followed lasted up to ten minutes.

d~b

Meanwhile, down in the basement, Robotnik and Uncle Ted were standing by the machine, while Horace, Jasper, Scratch, and Grounder stood by. "Like, wow! Talk about a mix-up!" Scratch exclaimed. "And EVERYONE switched bodies?"

"Good thing we all ducked underneath that tin-foil shield we built last week." Horace spoke up. "Otherwise, we would have switched bodies, too!"

"Too right, we got a lucky break this time," Grounder agreed.

"You're going to get a different kind of 'break' if you don't get started reparing the machine!" Robotnik snarled, clenching Ted's fist.

Jasper developed a sneaky smirk. "Hmm... I don't know. Considering the circumstances, I don't think we should rush into it," he said, slyly. "...That is, unless you're willing to offer a big reward for all our hard work."

"WHAT?! You blithering idiots, if that machine doesn't get fixed by tomorrow afternoon, we're going to be STUCK like this!"

"Yeah... things might get weird at the next family reunion," Ted added. "Talk about not being recognized after a long time!"

"Then our demands should be acceptable," Jasper said, grinning.

"DEMANDS?! You don't get any demands, you black-mailing dolt!" Robtonik snarled, shaking Ted's fist.

Jasper, and the other henchmen, crossed their arms. "No rewards, no work then."

Robotnik seethed, rubbing Ted's face. "Grrrrr... FINE! Name your price,"

"We want a raise in our salary- ten dollars an hour."

"And we'd like more vacation time- two weeks every season," Horace added.

"And more coffee breaks, at least three in the day, 20 minutes each!" Scratch included.

"And a vending machine!" Grounder exclaimed. The others looked at him. "...What? This place needs a vending machine, don't you think?"

"I'd agree to that!" Ted exclaimed.

Ted's face turned red, as Robotnik muttered curses. "ALRIGHT! It's all yours! Just get to work on that machine!" he bellowed.

Jasper nodded, and they got to work. "Nice to negotiate, isn't it?" he said.

Robotnik only groaned. "Blackmailed by my own henchmen, AND stuck in the body of an obese 40-year-old lunatic... what could be worse?!"

Ted looked down at Robotnik's body. "Well... you could be in my condition." he said, earning a death-glare.

d~b

Back in the apartment, everyone was sitting around, talking about how they would work things out. They decided they would give the whole 'live each other's lives' cliche a try for the night.

Flip was trying to quiz Shaggy for the test, as he was determined to take it. "Alright, Shaggy, first question: a diamond weighs a quarter of a pound. A thief replaces a bag of them with a bag of rocks that weighs 10 pounds even. How many diamonds did the thief steal?" he asked, reading from his textbook.

"Sheesh, Flip, I thought the test was about solving mysteries, not doing math!" Shaggy scoffed, busy playing a videogame.

"Mystery-solving does require some math. Suppose you had to go after the thief, but he hid the diamonds in separate areas- how would you figure out if you had the right amount?"

"The real question is, how would he know the bag of diamonds weighed exactly 10 pounds, unless he was in the store while they were being weighed?"

Flip blinked, then looked in the back of his textbook, seeing that was part of the answer! "U-Um... lucky guess. But you won't be so lucky on the test tomorrow!"

"Really? I seem to be doing well while you quiz me- WHILE playing _Smash Bros.!" _

Flip sighed. "Lets try another question." he looked down at the textbook. "You're investigating a robbery at a manor. The suspects are the maid, the butler, the chef, and the caretaker. The butler claims the crime took place at 2:00. The maid said she was in the garden at 1:00 and didn't come in until 3:00. The chef claims he was shopping for groceries at 1:30 and didn't get home until 2:00. And the caretaker claims he was nowhere on the grounds at 2:00. ...Who's lying?"

Shaggy thought for a minute. "The maid and the butler."

"What? It can't be both... can it?"

"Sure. The maid wouldn't be working in the garden, since that would be the caretaker's job. And the Butler was the one who claims the crime took place at 2:00... How would he know the exact time? And since the chef and caretaker weren't around, no one would see them do it!"

Flip blinked again, then looked at the answers, seeing Shaggy was once again right. "Holy cow... you do know a lot about mystery-solving!"

"I told you, I've been doing it my whole life... That, and that last question was just like the set-up in the late-movie I saw on TV last night."

*Thump!*

The textbook was suddenly dropped in 'Flip's' lap, as Shaggy's body sat next to him. "Can you quiz me, now?" he asked, eagerly.

"I thought you wanted me to take the test... Like, we're still in each other's bodies!" Shaggy answered.

"Yeah... but Shawn's right- as much as you know, it would be like cheating. So I want you to help me out so I don't have to!"

"But what if we're not back in our bodies by morning?"

Flip shrugged Shaggy's shoulders. "Just call the school and tell them I got sick with the flu- Pugsy's using that excuse so Zippy doesn't go to work for him,"

Shaggy shrugged, then nodded and opened up the textbook. "Alright, if you say so!"

d~b

"I am NOT doing this!"

"Oh c'mon, it'll be easy!"

"Easy?! I'll break my neck!"

"Don't be ridiculous, you'll be fine- and I gave you a helmet just for extra measure!"

"Can't I just go out the front door like a normal person?"

"Dude, if I went out the door like a normal person, people would get suspicious! If you want me to keep you in-character, you have to do the same for me."

Pugsy only groaned.

In case you didn't figure it out, the two were standing on the balcony... Zippy's body having a parachute strapped to it, plus a helmet, while Pugsy's body stood by the railing. The two had also switched hats, just so they could have _something_ of their own.

"Can't we just stay put in the apartment until the machine is fixed?" Pugsy begged.

"Oh, stop being a wimp. All you have to do is jump over the edge, pull the cord, and not die. Easy!" Zippy replied. "I'd show you how- but SOMEONE doesn't want people to think he's psycho!"

"...I think if I did this, people would assume that anyway..."

"So, have at it!" Zippy then slapped 'herself' on the back, knocking her body (Pugsy still in it) clean over!

"ZIIIIIIPPPYYYYY!"

"Pull the cord, man! Pull the cord!"

Pugsy quickly pulled the cord... but a mattress came out. "What the jumping ignor-"

*THUD!*

Pugsy's body gave a cringe, as Zippy looked down. "Maybe I should have told he was supposed to climb onto the mattress before shoving him..." she realized, then ran downstairs, seeing a Zippy-shaped crater in the ground. "So... how was the impact?"

"...potamases..." Pugsy finished in a dazed moan, Zippy's head slowly coming up with swirls in her eyes.

Zippy took the helmet off 'her' head and chucked it. "A fat lot of good that thing did," she scoffed, then grabbed her body and slung it over Pugsy's shoulder. "Ah well. We'll try again once you've regained conciousness,"

She walked through the lobby, where Scratch and Grounder were coming up. "Uh... what's up with Zippy?" Scratched asked.

"He-" Zippy began to reply, but remembered she was supposed to be posing as Pugsy, then cleared her throat, trying to immitate his voice. "'She' fell unconcious, so I'm taking her up to my place." with that, she continued on.

Scratch and Grounder blinked, eyes wide, and turned and walked back down to the basement. "He sure has weird tastes..."

"Yeah... I had no idea Zippy was a girl, either!" Grounder questioned.

d~b

Meanwhile, Shawn and Holly were in the living room, Shawn trying to brush Holly's hair. "Sheesh, Holly, how can you do anything with so much hair?" he asked.

"It's not that different than guys brushing their own hair," Holly answered.

"Well, yeah... but my hair's shorter- and I used to have people do it for me before I came here,"

Holly arched an eyebrow. "Really? Your hair is always messy, though!"

"I didn't say I liked how they did it. Eventually I just stopped combing my hair, deciding to just keep it short and shaggy-"

"What?" Shaggy asked.

"Nothing, Flip,"

"I'm Shaggy!"

Holly's shoulders shrugged. "Could've fooled me."

'Flip' gave an eye-roll, then walked back to his room.

"Anyway, guys don't really do much with their hair anyway, unless we have a date or special occasion to go to. ...Only reason I got away with it was because I was a TV star, and it gave me some individuality outside of other game-show hosts."

"Well, girls are different when it comes to hair," Holly explained, taking the brush and combing 'her' hair. "We're obligated to look nice, wherever we go, otherwise be excluded in the social world. ...It's kind of a peer-pressure thing,"

"Never bothered me," Zippy said as she walked in, 'her' body slung over Pugsy's shoulders. "I chose the tomboy route to keep that kind of pressure out of my life,"

Shawn and Holly both arched eyebrows. "What happened to you... I mean Pugs... What happened?" Shawn asked.

"Ah, I tried to give Pugs some lessons in parachuting... The guy acted like he never jumped from 500 feet before!" She dropped her body on the couch, then sat down in a chair.

'Shawn' gave an eye-roll, then began to braid 'Holly's' hair. "Anyway, I just like to look nice. It's actually harder for girls to do, rather than guys- right Zippy?"

Zippy scoffed. "Have you _not_ noticed the body I'M stuck in? ...But yeah, I see your point. Again, that's why I don't try- too much work, too much pressure, and too much waste for life."

"I get what you're saying, Holly- I had to go through the same thing as a TV star. Outside of my hairstyle, I always had to keep my looks in-check... Zippy's right, it gets tiring after a while." Shawn said. "That's one reason why I finally decided to get out of show-business and just settle down for a while. ...I don't think you should worry too much about your looks, either. You're only 12, after all, and you have a good heart."

"You really think so?" Holly asked, a blush coming to Shawn's face.

"Hey, why else would boys flip for you? ...Speaking of Flip, I wonder how he and Shaggy are doing,"

"I'll go check on them, I promised Flip I'd help him study anyway." Holly got up and walked towards Flip's room.

Shawn looked at the braid in Holly's hair. "You know... maybe I should have that girl do my hair one of these days," he commented. "She does a good job!"

Zippy face-palmed. "Oh, geez, Shawn, first you look like a girl, now you're starting to act like one!" she commented.

"Oh, hush! I was just giving her a compliment,"

"For someone who can do hair with man-hands like yours, I agree..." Zippy then held up an iPhone... showing a video of 'Shawn' braiding 'Holly's' hair!

"What the...?! Zippy, erase that video!"

A smirk appeared on Pugsy's face. "It's gonna cost ya!"

"ZIP!" Shawn then began to chase Zippy...

...Though, when the others stepped out, all they could see was 'Holly' chasing 'Pugsy' around.

Didn't help that 'he' caught 'her' and began to wrestle 'her' for the iPhone... and 'she' was losing.

"Ow! Watch those nails!/Give me the phone!/Take it easy!/Phone! Now!/Get off me!/Just hand over the phone!/Yeow! Watch it, or that braid gets yanked out!" they were both shouting.

It was enough to get Pugsy to come to. "Ugh... what's going on?" he asked, rubbing Zippy's head.

"You're getting beaten up by a girl half your age, that's what." Shaggy replied, trying to hold in a snicker.

"SHAWN!" Holly shouted, storming over and prying 'herself' off Pugsy.

Shawn managed to get the iPhone, and deleted the video. "HA! GOT IT!" he exclaimed, tossing it back to Zippy.

Zippy rubbed Pugsy's head. "Geez, Pugs, either Holly's a real fighter, or you're out of shape!" she commented.

"Ah, shut up! You're the one who lost to a 12-year-old!" Pugsy sneered. "And I thought I told you not to cause any damage- that includes, no brawling!"

"Hey, you're the one always saying girls can't keep their hands off you- never thought it meant in a strangling-sense!" Shaggy joked, badly.

Pugsy glared at him... then punched Shaggy's stomach! "OOF!" Flip grunted, holding Shaggy's stomach and falling back.

"Sorry Flip!"

"Hey! Lay off my man, creep!" Zippy snapped... then punched Pugsy in his face with his own fist. "Ow..."

"Oh, so that's how it's going to be played, huh?!" Pugsy snapped, then slapped Zippy's face.

"Alright, that's enough! I think there's been enough violence around here, already!" Holly snapped.

Zippy took a deep breath. "You're right, it's been a bad day, we should all just-" she began to say, then bolted for the balcony!

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Pugsy shouted, running after her.

Everyone watched as 'Pugsy' climbed on the balcony railing, 'Zippy' trying to grab him by the waist, only for both of them to topple over!

*CRASH!*

"Um... anyone want to just watch a movie until this is over with?" Holly suggested, and everyone else agreed.

d~b

_~The Next Day...~_

Robotnik walked down into the basement, bending Ted's back a bit. "Ugh! I haven't slept that uncomfortably since the time I fired my chiropractor!" he sneered. "Oh, well, the machine should be done by now, then I can rest in my own- HUH?!"

Once he got downstairs, to his surprise he saw all his lackeys sitting around a table- a vending machine behind them- while eating donuts and drinking coffee! "Hey-o, Robotnik! Boy, you really slept in," Ted replied, waving Robotnik's arm.

"What the...?! Why aren't you lunkheads working on the machine?!"

"Well, after you left around midnight, the boys and I decided to take a break and play a little poker before bed. Then we all decided to go out and get donuts this morning," Ted held up the box. "Want some?"

"I don't want your glazed-coated breakfast treats! I want my body back!" Robotnik snarled, then looked in the box. "Ooh, is that a raspberry bear-claw?" he shook his head. "No! Argh! I'm starting to think like this buffoon! You dolts get to work on that machine NOW!"

"Yeah, yeah, we're on it..." Jasper sneered, as the henchmen got to work.

"Hey, uh, do you really have to yell at them like that?" Uncle Ted asked Robotnik.

"Yes!" Robotnik snapped. "Now stay in sight, and stay quiet!"

Ted rolled 'Robotnik's' eyes. "Sheesh, you'd think he'd be in a better mood, being in a well-built body like that,"

d~b

Back in Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip's apartment, everyone was asleep- 'Pugsy' (who had a bandage on his head and arm in a sling) sprawled out on the floor next to 'Shawn' while 'Holly' was on the couch.

Flip was the first one up, walking into the bathroom. "Gah!" he yelped, looking into the mirror, and sighed. "Oh, right, we switched bodies... man, I hope that machine gets fixed..." He walked out, seeing a couple applications Pugsy had brought home yesterday.

Pugsy, by this time, was just now waking up as well... a bandage covering Zippy's head. "Morning, Shag..." he said.

"Morning, Zippy."

Both of them paused, looking at each other. "Ah, crud... so it wasn't a nightmare. We actually DID switch bodies..." he looked at his own body. "And Zippy made me go over the balcony- in more ways than one!"

"...And got beat up by Shawn K... or, Holly... or whatever." Flip cleared his throat. "So, uh, find any good applicants?"

"No... and unless that machine starts working again, I won't be able to find any!" Pugsy then passed by the balcony...

Unaware of a certain masked figure eavesdropping, before disappearing over the edge.

Pugsy blinked, looking out at the balcony. "Ever have the feeling you're being watched?"

"...Or that someone ripped off Batman?" Flip added.

Pugsy rubbed Zippy's face. "I think I'm growing delusional..." he froze just then. "...That's probably what happened to Zippy!"

"Calm down, dude, just drink some coffee." Flip turned back to the applications, noticing there was a stack of blank ones. "What are the blank ones doing here?"

"Ah, the boss sent them home with me- he told me to pass them out to college students."

"I guess you never got around to it..."

"Are you kiddifying? I went over there, passing out a few, and the saps chucked them at me. ...I think only one of them gave me a decent one,"

Flip noticed it, on the top, reading the name. "Vincent B. Alchemist?"

"That's the one... But the name sounded like a joke, so I'm going to have to look it up later,"

Flip nodded Shaggy's head. "I'm sure someone good will apply,"

"Yeah, hopefully..." Pugsy walked out of the room.

Flip stared down at the applications, then looked back at the hall toward's Shaggy's room, knowing his friend was still asleep. _Shaggy helped me out... maybe I can help him out, too! _Flip thought, then grabbed an application.

d~b

Back downstairs, the lackeys were having trouble with the machine. "We can't seem to reverse the frequency, Robotnik," Jasper said. "The blasted thing is only set on one!"

"Well, keep trying! I can't stay like this forever!" Robotnik snarled.

"But we've tried everything! We even built some parts from Scratch!" Horace argued.

"...And I'd like them back soon, please!" Scratch commented, now missing an arm, leg, eye, and his lower torso.

"I don't care! Try everything! Rebuild the whole thing if you have to!" Robotnik ordered.

Ted looked over, noticing a masked figure by the machine. With the lackeys facing their boss, and Robotnik not even looking at the machine, no one else noticed. "Um, hey guys..." Ted tried to say.

"Not now!" Robotnik snapped at him, then turned to the lackeys. "I want this thing up and running in five minutes, otherwise I'll be making you boys switch brains- with the use of a carving knife!"

The figure took out his sonic-screwdriver, beaming it at the machine. "Robotnik, there's someone-"

"I said be quiet! ...Now get back to work, you brainless heathens!"

"But-"

"WHAT?!" Robotnik bellowed in his own face. "WHAT is SO important, that you keep having to open my mouth?!"

"The machine, someone-"

"Oy, look! It's fixed!" Jasper said, revealing that the frequency has been reversed, so the switch can be undone.

"It is? IT IS! YES!" Robotnik exclaimed, running over. Ted looked over, seeing a masked figure give a salute, before disappearing out of the building. Before he could think into it more, Robotnik hit the button.

d~b

There was a flash of light that once again enveloped the apartment building. So bright that, once it faded, everyone was awake back in Flip, Shaggy, and Pugsy's apartment. "H-Huh...? How'd I get in the kitchen?" Shaggy asked, rubbing his eyes, as he thought he was still asleep... he then looked down, seeing he was back in his own body. "W-What...? Hey! I'm ME again!"

"You are...?" Holly asked, sitting up. "You are! ...And..." she looked, seeing she was herself, too! "So am I!"

"YIPPEEEEEEE!" came an excited yell, as Zippy ran out of the room, doing cartwheels and leaping over furniture. "I'm a GIRL again! Woo-hoo!"

"Could've fooled me," Pugsy joked, lying on the couch. Zippy swatted him with his own hat before dropping it on his stomach, and taking her cap back.

"Boy, was that an experience I wouldn't want to go through again," Shawn K. said.

"Ditto," Flip added as he stepped out, looking at the clock, seeing it was 7:00. "And it looks like I won't have to call in sick!"

"...Or rip off a cliche that's been done in every single kind of body-switching scenario!" Zippy added, walking out onto the balcony with her parachute. "Well, back to the same ol' routine!" she then dove over the balcony, pulling the cord... and a giant eagle shot out, grabbing her by the arms with its talons and soaring through the air with a mighty screech.

"...Okay... I'm going to be the first to say, I'm glad to have my body back!" Pugsy exclaimed.

"Ditto!" everyone else agreed.

"I'd better get back home. See you, Flip! I had fun- despite Shawn tried to throttle Zippy/Pugsy with my own hands!" Holly exclaimed, walking out.

"Yeah... um... sorry about that," Shawn said to Pugsy, chuckling weakly as he stepped out.

"Well, so much for taking a day off," Pugsy said, getting ready for work. "I'd better head out now,"

"Don't forget the applications," Flip said, handing him the applications- plus one extra.

"Thanks, Flip. You sure you want to go to school, though? You didn't get to study too much,"

"It's okay, I think I learned enough," he looked over at Shaggy. "I had a good mentor,"

Shaggy gave a grin. Pugsy shrugged, and they walked out, glad to be back in control of their own lives.

d~b

Robotnik had his eyes covered... and when he opened them, he was happy to see he was covering his own eyes! He was back in his body! "SUCCESS!" He exclaimed.

"Hey, I'm me again!" Ted exclaimed as well. "This is great! We're all back to normal!"

"Speak for yourself!" came Jasper's voice...

...out of Scratch's body.

"Blimey! What happened to us?!" came Horace's voice out of Grounder's body.

"Boss... I think something went wrong!" came Grounder's voice out of Horace's body, then held up 'his' hands. "I-I-I have fingers!"

"How can you walk on these scrawny legs?!" Scratch asked Jasper, looking down at 'his' legs.

"Be lucky you HAVE legs!" Horace snapped.

"Hey, no problem-o, guys! We'll just use the machine again-" Uncle Ted began to say.

*CRASH!*

The machine, without any real cause, suddenly fell apart into a pile of scrap-metal.

Robotnik sighed. "I'll see if the catalogues have any good deals on brain-switching machines..." he groaned, then smirked. "FOR a price..."

"OH COME ON!" Jasper shouted.

d~b

Pugsy sat in his chair at the radio-station, preparing for another day, when he got a call. "Yeah? ...Oh, hey boss. ...Yeah, I looked over the applications." he said on the phone. "I think that 'Vincent' kid is the only one that's good- at least his profile checked out okay. ...Oh, giving him the afternoon slot? Alright. ...Huh? ...Other application? What other application? ...Really? I must've missed it. ...Oh, no, I know the guy- I think he'd do well. ...Sure, I'll call him up."

He hung up, then took out his cell phone. _Well... he's the best option I have left... _he thought as he went through his contacts.

d~b

Flip was walking home from school, catching up with Holly in the backyard. "Hey, Flip! How'd your test go?" she asked.

"I passed!" Flip said, holding up a test-paper with a 'B+' on it. "Who would've thought Shaggy would actually be right about something?"

"Speaking of Shaggy, I heard he got a new job!"

Flip feigned surprise. "Really? Where?"

Holly took out her iPod, which had a recorded transmission of a radio-show on it. "Listen..."

Flip put on the ear-phones, listening eagerly.

_"...and this is Leo Brave signing out. Want to thank everyone who tuned in- and special thanks to my new partner, Case Rogers," _came Pugsy's voice.

_"Thanks for having me, Leo. Glad I got the gig," _came Shaggy's voice... though it sounded smoother and less high-pitched.

"I had no idea it was Shaggy, until he and Pugsy told us he got the job! ...It was weird, though, because he claimed he never signed up for it!" Holly said.

"Yeah, weird," Flip said, supressing a smirk. "And yeah, I remember he used the voice once when we all went through a drive-thru, and decided to pull a joke on the guy by 'singing' our order... We got the idea from a web-video,"

Holly laughed. "Well, I'm so glad things worked out well for everyone,"

"Me too," They began to walk inside...

*THUD!*

A large mattress landed in the yard, Pugsy on top of it, and both kids gave him a surprised look. "Eh heh... I-I thought I'd give it one more shot," he said, sheepishly.

d~b

**A/N: Yeah, you wouldn't believe how badly I wanted to throw in the 'body switch' cliches, but it was so much to choose from and I wanted to hurry and publish this... so yeah, got lazy. **

**The ending where Shaggy gets the radio job is both a reference and a tribute to his original voice actor, Casey Kasem. **_**RIP, Casey. We will miss you.**_

**Review.**


	6. Minisode: The Drive Thru Song

**Okay, guys, here's a quick mini-sode, based off a video I saw on the internet. Enjoy!**

d~b

_Mini-Sode_

_~The Drive-Thru Song~_

We get a view of the local fast-food restaurant, Nacho Bob's, where a red van is pulling up. Driving the vehicle is Pugsy, with Shaggy in the middle of the passenger-seat with a guitar, and Flip is sitting next to him recording them on an iPhone. "That thing on, Flip?" Pugsy asked him as they pulled in front of the speaker.

"Yep, ready when you are," Flip answered.

"Shag, you practiced, right?"

"Practiced, tuned the guitar- I'm ready, man." Shaggy answered.

"Alright. Lets do this,"

The speaker crackled just then. _"Welcome to Nacho Bob's, may I take your order?" _came a voice.

Shaggy and Pugsy smirked, then the lanky young man began to play his guitar, while Pugsy (get this) _sang_ the order... and for once, it was good!

_Pugsy: _**We'd like three tacos with hard shells**

**And some guacamole on the side**

Shaggy took the next verse- and surprisingly, his voice didn't sound like it was about to crack, for once.

_Shaggy: _**Then we'd like two orders of nachos**

**To snack on as we ride**

_Both: _**Some tortilla chips with some salsa**

**Would also be quite nice**

**Along with two soft-shell taco-grandes**

**With extra cheese and extra rice**

_Pugsy: _**Three enchiladas, sound so good**

**And two burritos will do as well**

_Shaggy: _**An order of fried-ice-cream for dessert**

**Sounds pretty darn swell!**

_Both: _**And two chicken fiettas for the kids**

**With the Transformer toys inside**

**And to wrap up this order, three large drinks**

**Dr. Pepper, Cola, and Sprite**

Shaggy gave some final strums on his guitar, Flip trying not to laugh. "Did you get all that?" Pugsy asked.

_"I think so!" _The guy on the speaker laughed. "_I got 3 hard-shell tacos with a side of guacamole; two orders of nachos for you to snack on as you ride; some tortilla chips with salsa; two soft-shell taco-grandes with extra cheese and rice; three enchiladas; two burritos; an order of fried ice-cream; two chicken fiettas for the kids with a Transformers toy; and a large Dr. Pepper, Cola, and Sprite... and I right?"_

The guys laughed, surprised that the guy taking their order could remember the whole order- without cracking up! "Yeah, that's right!" Shaggy called.

_"Alright, your total is $35.80, you can pay at the first window- nice song, by the way," _

"Thank you!" Pugsy replied, and they drove up to the window, the stocky young man looking at his friend. "...Shag, you brought money, right?"

Shaggy sighed, pulling out his wallet. "Like, next time, bring your wallet," he muttered.

Flip laughed, ready to post this on the internet. "That's the first time I heard you guys sing- without the windows shattering!" he joked, as normally Shaggy and Pugsy made a horrible duet.

"A lot can change in 3 years, Flip..." Pugsy replied.

"...And it helps to take lessons from Melody," Shaggy added.

"I wondered why Holly was wearing ear-plugs the other day," Flip remarked.

"Ah, shut up, otherwise you can pay for the order," Pugsy sneered.

Flip chuckled, shaking his head. They got their food, the cashier telling them they really made his day, and they said they appreciated the compliment.

"Lets hit the Nasty Burger, next!" Shaggy exclaimed.

"No, I think that's enough for a day," Pugsy replied, as they drove off down the road.

"Please? We can to a Country song!"

"Nah,"

"Hard-rock?"

"No."

"Soft-rock?"

"No!"

"Oh! I could go get my electronic keyboard-guitar and we can do techno!"

"NO!" Pugsy and Flip both shouted.

"...sheesh, everybody's a critic."

d~b

**A/N: Yeah, I saw a video of a couple guys driving up to a Taco Bell or something, and singing a long order- and the guy on the speaker remembered the whole thing! XD (I want to try this in real life sometime... if I knew how to sing)**

**Please review, and the next episode will be up soon!**


	7. Ep 5: Pugsy The Bully?

**Okay, so if everyone has stuck around after that poor-attempt at a drive-thru song, here's the next episode... where we may get a LITTLE drama...**

***readers begin to click out***

**I SAID **_**A LITTLE**_**! Sheesh! Roll the ep!**

**d~b**

_~Episode 5~_

_Pugsy... the Bully?_

It was a nice morning in the city of Toonopolis...

Unless your name is 'Flip Chan' and you're being hunted down by Derek Generic.

Yes, the young 12-year-old boy was once again being harassed by his bully, only this time it was on the way home from school. Flip had taken a different route home, as Pugsy had a meeting after work and wouldn't get off until 4, the kid deciding he'd walk by the station after school (which was only a couple blocks away) and hitch a ride home with him. ...However, he never noticed that the Junior-Detective Middle School was just down the street from the regular public-school, which was on the corner of the block adjacent to the radio-station, meaning Derek had a good view of Flip when he got out of school.

"HEY CHAN!" Derek had shouted, running after him. After a long day of school, he felt beating someone up would help him relax. Jerk.

"Yipe!" Flip cried out, and had taken off running, hoping to reach the radio-station before the brute could catch up to him.

No such luck. Derek caught him before he could reach the door, pinning him against the wall in an alley. "Alright, dork, you have ten seconds to give me twenty reasons not to bury you under the concrete!" the bully threatened.

"C-C-C'mon, Derek! What are you beating ME up for?! I didn't do anything!" Flip stammered, thrashing in his grip.

"You crossed my path, you ran, and you're squirming- that's enough of a reason!" Derek raised his fist. "Besides, I could use a few swings at something..."

"So get a punching-bag!" snapped a voice.

Derek turned, his eyes widening as he dropped Flip. Standing behind him was Pugsy... who didn't look happy at the moment. "Yikes! Uh, sorry man! W-W-We were just kidding around!"

Pugsy only sneered. "Yeah, right. Flip, you alright?"

Flip nodded, walking around Derek and over to his friend. The bully looked up at the older man, giving a weak grin.

Pugsy stepped up to him. "If I catch you bothering him again, you're going to be answering to me- and buddy, I'm heavy on discipline,"

Derek only sneered, looking at Flip. "Oh, I bet, seeing how you're picking his own fights. ...Good thing someone else is always babysitting you, right Chan?"

Flip blushed, and Pugsy clenched his fists. "I mean it, Derek. Don't make me do something I'll regret!"

Derek paused, the line sounding familiar... and here's where we get a quick flash-back!

_~Off to Flash-back Land! Wheeeeee!~_

_We get an image of a five-year-old Derek standing against the wall... cornered by a 14-year-old Pugsy, cracking his fists. "C'mon, Derek, don't make me do something I'd regret!" Pugsy says._

_~End of ridiculously-short flash-back!~_

Derek then begins to shake. "Y-You...! I remember you!" he stammered.

"Huh? Remember me from where?" Pugsy questioned, confused.

"Like you'd forget! You used to bully me in school!"

"What?" Flip and Pugsy both stated.

"Don't play dumb! Back in school, at Animation-Ranking Public! You used to corner me in the hallway before school, all the time!"

"Yeah right!" Flip snapped, not convinced. "Pugsy wouldn't harass a little kid! Right, Pugs?"

However, Pugsy was thinking, suddenly recalling a piece of his past. "I... um..." he began to say, unable to find his words. "I do remember going to that school... and picking on a kid... wait, that was you?"

Flip's eyes widened, and Derek gave a nervous nod. "Oh yeah... Your 'friend' here used to torment me, until my family got the chance to move! ...Speaking of 'move', I'm getting outta here!" Derek stammered, then took off, running as fast as he could.

Flip looked up at Pugsy, stunned. "Is it true? You... You used to bully Derek?" he asked. Sure, it sounded cool that one of his friends could intimidate his bully... but the thought of his friend being a bully- especially one that harassed kids 9 years younger than he was- made him edgy.

"Um... *sigh* Yeah. Back in Junior High, I tended to pick on him- and a few others." Pugsy confessed, though cleared his throat. "B-But, it's in the past now. Lets just not bring it up now, okay? We should get home,"

Flip nodded, though couldn't shake off his shock. Sure, Pugsy was known for being a jerk from time to time... but a full-out bully? _What all had he done, before I met him? _he couldn't help but wonder, nervously.

d~b

After they got home, Pugsy sat down on the couch to watch TV, while Flip said he was going in the backyard to wait for Holly. Shaggy was back there, lounging in a lawn-chair... asleep with a comic-book on his face, snoring softly. "Hey, Shaggy, can I ask you something?" Flip asked him... though only got a snore in reply. He sighed, then shook his friend. "Shaggy!"

"Gah! Whoa! I'm up!" Shaggy yelped, sitting up, the comic-book dropping in his lap. He then turned. "Oh, hey, Flip. What's up?"

"Shag, you went to school with Pugsy, right? Was he ever, um... a bully?"

Shaggy looked at Flip, blinking a couple times. "Um... we ARE talking about the same Pugsy who once dragged me out on his lawn while I was sleeping, and turned the sprinkler on me, aren't we?"

Flip gave him a look. "Shaggy..."

Shaggy waved his hands a bit. "Alright, alright. Yes, we went to school together in Junior High... but we weren't really close friends, considering the gang and I were always solving mysteries together- and the only bully I dealt with was Red Herring, but as for Pugsy... I don't know if he was a bully or not. Why do you ask?"

Flip began to reply, but Pugsy stepped out just then. "There you are, Shag." Pugsy said, crossing his arms. "Care to explain why you skipped out on the meeting this afternoon and didn't give me a lift home?"

Shaggy gave a jolt, facing Pugsy. "Um... well, you see..." Pugsy continued to look crossed, making him feel nervous. "I think he was," he quickly whispered to Flip, then took off running.

"Get back here, pinhead!" Pugsy shouted, racing after him.

Flip watched the stocky young man chase after their lanky friend... and for a minute, thought about how much it looked like how Derek always chased him. _No... it couldn't be... could it? _he thought, not wanting to believe Pugsy was a bully...

...or could still be.

He walked back into the building, heading up to the apartment... just in time to see Derek poke his head out of the elevator. "Oh, jeez, Chan! P-Pugs ain't around, is he?" Derek asked, timidly.

"He's outside with Shaggy... but he'll be back in, soon." Flip replied, a bit happy to see Derek scared for once.

"Cripes, in that case, I'm bolting! I'm surprised you're not doing the same!"

Flip arched an eyebrow. "Why would I? We share the same apartment."

"Holy crud, you do?! How can you get any sleep with him around?!"

"Well, we're friends. I'm not scared of him,"

Derek scoffed. "You would be if you saw the things he used to do to me!"

Flip crossed his arms, growing curious. "Yeah? What did he do?"

Derek motioned him to come around the corner, looking around to make sure no one (mostly Pugsy) was around to hear. "I don't know whether or not he told you- which I doubt he did- but your 'friend' used to be a total brute! I went through school with the nickname 'Toilet-Boy' thanks to him and all those swirlies he gave me!"

"Swirlies? ...No way. I don't believe it,"

Derek gripped him by the shoulders. "Believe it, Chan! He was a total jerk! I used to fake sick every day just so I wouldn't go to school, and kept asking the teacher if I could take a baseball-bat with me whenever I had to go use the bathroom, worried he'd be waiting to pounce!"

Flip rolled his eyes. "And I take it he wanted your lunch money too, right?"

Derek shook his head. "No, he wasn't that kind of bully... That was some other kid, Red Herring- but he wasn't as bad as Pugsy. _Pugsy _would pick on others just to show who's boss, picking on the weaker guys, even little kids, just to show that he showed mercy to no one!"

"You mean like YOU do?"

"Duh! You think I got this brutal just by watching wrestling on TV?! I became a bully so I wouldn't have to go through that twisted year of kindergarten again- and it's all because of Pugsy,"

Flip shook his head. "I-I don't believe it. Maybe he did pick on you, but I doubt he'd be that brutal!"

There came a *ding* from the elevator, and Derek looked around the corner. "Oh yeah? Look at that and tell me he's not brutal,"

Flip looked... seeing Pugsy had Shaggy caught in a head-lock, dragging him down the hall. "...And next time, you wait around for me rather than take off, got it?!" Pugsy was lecturing.

"Like *gack* got it, Pugs! C-Can I get some oxygen, now?" Shaggy whimpered.

"Not until we get to the apartment- I don't want to have to chase you through the hedges, again,"

Flip bit his lip, still trying to deny it, until Derek whispered in his ear, "Face facts, Chan- you're living with a bully, worse than I am,"

Flip shoved him away. "No... he's not a bully! He's..." he stammered, but couldn't come up with a retort.

"Yeah. Sure." Derek huffed, walking away.

Flip slowly walked back to the apartment, his feelings in a bunch. He couldn't believe Derek, he'd never believe Derek! ...But, why did he feel his bully had a point?

Meanwhile, Derek smirked to himself. "Heh heh... Looks like I really got to him this time. If I can get Flip to see Pugsy as a threat, he'll have one less 'body-guard' for me to deal with,"

"You do realize talking to yourself about a sinister plot is over-used and cliche, let alone violates the discretion of its secrecy, don't you?" Sheldon Cooper commented, passing by.

Derek looked at him. "...What?"

Sheldon only sighed, walking off. "Never mind. (I swear, talking to bullies is like lecturing a brick),"

Derek shook his head, then walked off, thinking up what else he could tell Flip about Pugsy...

d~b

The next day, Flip got up, deciding he'd call up Holly and see if she wanted to hang out. When he stepped out, he noticed Shaggy in the kitchen-area, looking quite worn out, even though it was nearly 10 in the morning. "Hey, Shaggy... Whoa, you don't look good. Didn't get enough sleep?" Flip asked.

"No. I had to drive 'his royal pain in the highness' to work this morning for 'ditching' him yesterday." Shaggy sneered. "And he made me get up at 6 AM! SIX IN THE A-M! On a SATURDAY!"

*thunk!*

Shaggy made a face-plant on the counter, exhausted. "Um... Don't you guys both work at the radio-station?" Flip questioned.

"I only go in with him during the weekdays- Pugsy goes in by himself on Saturday mornings, then I take the night-segment."

Flip arched an eyebrow. "Why don't you guys both do a segment on Saturdays?"

"Budget cuts- the manager said that having a two-man show five days a week is enough... thank God, too, I don't think our two-man show would go so well after he made me drive him over there before the sun was up... on a _weekend_!"

"O-Okay, Shaggy, take it easy. Why didn't you just go back to your room and get back to sleep after you dropped him off?"

Shaggy scoffed. "Because on the way home, some maniac on a motorcycle zipped out in front of me and nearly made me swerve into a semi, and I've been wide-awake since!"

Just then Zippy came through the balcony door. "Sheesh, you won't believe what happened to ME this morning!" she scoffed. "I was riding my new motorcycle across town, and some idiot in a red van nearly runs me over at a yellow-light!" she then turned to Shaggy. "Hey, Shaggy- whoa, what happened? You look like you nearly got hit by a truck!"

Shaggy only gawked at Zippy, then face-palmed. "N-Never mind... I'm going back to bed," with that, he walked down the hall back to his own room.

Zippy turned and looked at Flip. "What's with him?"

"Um, Pugsy made him drive him to work- long story," Flip answered, deciding to avoid the 'traffic' subject.

She shook her head. "God bless that man- having to put up with so much from that jerk. I know I couldn't handle it," she then took out a spiked-ball and chain. "Well, time to head to my self-defense class! See you around, Flip." With that, she walked out on the balcony, stuck out her thumb, and a jet hovered over, opening a door which she stepped through, then shot off.

Flip sat at the island-counter for a while, noticing how increasingly obvious it was that everyone saw Pugsy as a jerk. He decided to get dressed and take a walk, figuring he could call up Holly later.

On his way out, who should he run into but Derek. "Oh, good, you're still alive." Derek quipped, walking beside him. "From the way Pugs was throwing Shaggy around the halls last night, I was worried he went after you next,"

"Shut up, Derek! I don't care!" Flip snarled, not wanting to hear any more talk from the bully.

Derek clenched his fists, ready to pummel Flip for snapping at him... but decided to mentally torment him instead. "Hey, I'm just joking. I think you're a tough kid, sticking around with Pugs. He must really like you, if he doesn't pick on you- he, uh, _doesn't_ pick on you, does he?"

Flip then thought about it. True, Pugsy didn't really torment him... but from time to time he did make a wise-crack about his crush on Holly, or bossed him around when it came to chores. But that wasn't really much of bullying- even if it was, he wasn't going to tell it to Derek. "Since when do you care? You torment me all the time!"

"Yeah, but considering you're living with another bully... I may have to lighten up. It's the Bully Code not to torment someone else's victims, unless you wanted to have a wrestling-match about it- and I've been beaten by Pugsy enough when I was little! One time, I was on the playground- all the Middle School kids were having a passing-period at this time- and I was looking for a ball to play with. Well, Pugsy was outside, grabbing a ball I was about to grab, and when I asked him if I could have it, he said he'd give to me... in the face!"

Flip sneered. "You're making that up."

"Oh yeah? Ask my mom! The teacher called her up about it when she found me with a bloody nose! ...Then there was this time he gave me a wedgie and hung me on the flag-pole, just as a warning to the new kids!"

Flip shook his head, not believing it. "Are you sure you didn't just do something to make him mad? Because that's pretty much the only time he torments anyone,"

"Ha! Don't I know it! Back then, anything you said or did could set him off! I once saw him slam a kid into a locker just because they bumped into him! Another time, he shoved a kid down the stairs, just because they wouldn't lend him a dollar for the soda-machine! And then there was a time he punched a kid in the face, just because they were talking to a girl he had a crush on-"

"How can you remember all this stuff, if you were only five at the time?"

Derek paused. "Well... You remember a lot of things when you're scarred for life! I think Shaggy could even tell you that!"

Flip considered this. "True... b-but I doubt he was that mean!"

Derek sighed. "Oh, Flip... I know you probably don't believe it. I don't blame you- if someone was telling me a good friend of mine used to be a creep, I wouldn't want to believe it, either. But, it's like I always tell my little brother, Bobby- be careful who you hang out with."

Flip gave him a deadpanned look. "YOU told him that?"

"Duh! Big brothers always have to give their little brothers some kind of advice! I don't want my little bro hanging around with some creep who may end up stabbing him in the back! ...Trust me, I have experience in that,"

"Yeah, you were probably the back-stabber,"

Derek sneered. "Hey, I'm trying to help you out here, Chan, so knock it off with the comments!"

"Since when do you ever want to help me out?"

Derek scoffed. "Because I feel sorry for you. ...I'm warning you, be careful around that guy. The littlest things can set him off! ...But, hey, if you don't want to believe the kid he bullied to the point of no return, go ahead. It's your funeral." With that, Derek walked over to the elevators, taking one down.

Flip shook his head. "What a liar," he said to himself, then took the stairs down, going out to the backyard. He still refused to believe Derek's stories... but at the same time, he was beginning to feel a bit... uncertain. After all, Pugsy was a jerk sometimes- chasing after Shaggy and forcing him to do his bidding was enough to prove that. And there was the time, three years back, when his own gang kicked him out just because he was being brutal...

The more Flip thought back to it, the more tense he was becoming, and he didn't know which was worse- that Pugsy was a bully, or that Derek was right for once.

A hand gripped him by the shoulder just then. "Augh!" he yelped, turning around.

"Whoa, easy, Flip! It's just me," Pugsy said.

Flip calmed down, but couldn't keep himself from growing a little pale. "Oh, P-Pugsy... I thought you had to work until noon,"

"Ah, I had to come home early. For some reason, a gigantified robot-head flew through the air and knocked over the antenna on the building, so we're going to be off-air until it gets fixed." he arched an eyebrow, seeing Flip's complexion was losing its color. "Say, you alright, Flip? You don't look so good-" he reached out his hand to feel Flip's forehead.

The 12-year-old flinched, taking a step back. "I-I'm fine! I'm, um, going to go over to see Holly... is... that alright?"

Pugsy only gave him a confused look. "Um, yeah. You don't need my permission... you sure you're okay?"

Flip nodded. "Yeah, I'm good! See ya!" With that, he took off around the corner.

Pugsy scratched his head. "What got into him?"

"Oh, now it's the 'Wonder Out Loud to Yourself' cliche... *sigh* Doesn't anyone keep their thoughts to themselves, anymore?" Sheldon Cooper stated, passing by again.

Pugsy gave him a look. "Don't you?"

Sheldon paused. "No. But that's because my thoughts should actually be heard by others."

Pugsy shook his head, walking off. "Pass,"

Sheldon huffed. "That's what the last 15 people said. Clearly, no one wants to hear any constructive criticism. Oh, how I weep for humanity." he looked over at some bushes, and sighed again. "Great, and it's followed by the 'antagonist secretly watching from a secluded place' cliche... does no one believe in originality, anymore?"

Derek popped up from the bushes. "Dude, speak english!" he commented.

"I DO speak English. You just need to upgrade your vocabulary," With that, Sheldon walked off.

Derek rolled his eyes. Despite the nerd-cameo's comments, he couldn't help but smirk at the fact that he had gotten into Flip's head, then walked off to spy on him.

Meanwhile, Robotnik stormed towards the building, him and his lackeys looking charred. "I TOLD you idiots not to push the red button!" he snarled.

"Hey, it's not our fault those giant robots combust so easily!" Scratch argued.

"Yeah, well, thanks to you, not only did you ruin our plans YET AGAIN..." Robotnik pulled out a small radio, which was only making a static-sound. "But now we don't have any decent music to listen to!"

"Aw, and they were going to tell us who won the tickets to the Skillet concert today, too..." Horace whined as they walked in.

d~b

Flip, meanwhile, met up with Holly, telling her about his new anxiety. "I know Pugsy would never hurt me, Holly, but after hearing that he was a bully, and thinking about how brutal he tends to get, I just got all jumpy," he confessed to her.

"I know how you feel." Holly told him. "My ex-stepsister, Brattina, used to tell me scary stories about her grandpa when we were little, when he was coming over to visit. She scared me so much that when he came over, I was afraid to talk to him! ...But, once I got to know him, I found out he was actually pretty nice, and that Brattina was only trying to scare me. I think Derek's doing the same thing to you,"

"Yeah, but... the scary thing is, I know Pugsy pretty well, and he does tend to be a jerk. I'm just worried I might set him off!"

Holly rolled her eyes. "I doubt he'd give you a swirly if you did, Flip. And you had a point earlier- Pugsy would never do anything to hurt you... Don't let Derek change your mind about that."

Flip nodded. "Alright. Thanks, Holly."

"Anytime. If you want, we could-"

"Hel-LO, Holly!" Derek called, walking over. "Feel like going and getting a soda?"

Holly sneered. "Actually, I feel like I'm going to vomit,"

"Oh, come on, don't you want to hang out with me?"

"Sure. Close your eyes, first, for a surprise."

Derek did so- and puckered his lips, just in case. Holly grimaced, and grabbed Flip's arm, pulling him away. "What's the surprise?" Flip whispered once they were around the corner.

"He's going to find I'm not there," Holly whispered, smirking.

Flip chuckled. "Not really that surprising."

Derek, meanwhile, opened his eyes, looking around. "Where'd she go?" he wondered, scratching his head.

d~b

Back inside the apartment, later, Shaggy and Pugsy were sitting in their living room with Shawn K., Uncle Ted, and Zippy. "Any idea what was up with Flip today, Shag? He was acting weird when I came home," Pugsy asked.

"Well, he did ask me if you were a bully back in school. I told him we weren't so close back then, so I didn't know." Shaggy answered. "Actually, I wonder why he asked..."

"Really? It's that hard to figure- mmf!" Zippy began to quip, until Shawn clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Don't start," Shawn warned.

Pugsy sighed bitterly. "It's because of Derek, I'm guessing. The kid brought up I used to bully him when he was in kindergarten," he muttered.

"Oh yeah, I remember my sis telling me about that!" Uncle Ted said, eyes wide as he looked at Pugsy. "That was YOU? ...Huh, who would have thought? One of my buddies was a bully,"

"Seriously, I doubt anyone could miss- mmf!" Zippy tried to state again.

"Zippy, this is a sensitive subject, I suggest you NOT make any comments." Shawn said, sternly. "We've all had our share of bully-problems, I doubt you should be one too."

Zippy tore his hand off her mouth. "Hey, I was only joking! He's not a bully anymore- I think."

*DOOF!*

Pugsy chucked a pillow at her face. "...Scratch that." she muffled.

"Back to Flip," Shawn sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, then looked at Pugsy. "What did Derek tell him, exactly?"

"Just that I used to torment him until the family moved, then he scrammified," Pugsy replied, then rubbed his chin. "I wonder if he's not telling him anything else..."

"Derek always did exaggerate," Uncle Ted said. "One time, he said Pugsy chased after him with a machete!" he then looked at Pugsy. "Um, you didn't, did you?"

Pugsy gave Ted a look. "No! What the...?! What kind of kid brings a machete to school?! ...Besides ZIP?"

"...it was for show-and-tell..." Zippy muttered.

"I don't think I'd believe everything Derek would say, either." Shawn said. "He might just be making a few things up just to get Pugsy into trouble,"

"You think? Come to think of it, that's how it was like in school." Pugsy said, thinking back. "I remember the twerp brought a water-balloon to school, probably out to prankify someone, but it exploded on him. I laughed a little, and he told the teacher I gave him a swirly, and landed me in detention! ...So, I got back at him, by nicknaming him 'Toilet Boy'."

Zippy arched an eyebrow. "You- a kid in Junior High- wanted to get revenge... on a five-year-old?" she questioned.

Pugsy crossed his arms. "It was the grade of peer-pressure, and he wasn't exactly the nicest kid, Machete-Girl," he looked back at Ted. "I never did anything brutal to him, though- okay, one time I hit him in the face with a dodgeball, but it was an accident!"

"How would that be an accident?" Uncle Ted questioned.

"Because he was aiming for me, and I ducked," Shaggy admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "B-But in our defense, Derek shouldn't have snuck off the playground!"

"So, you weren't a total bully," Shawn said to Pugsy.

Pugsy sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Actually... yeah, I sort of was. Not to Derek, but to some other kids in my own grade." he confessed, then shook his head. "But you have to understand, guys, I've changed since then." he then stood up. "And right now, I've got to go find Flip, before Derek puts any more ideas in his head,"

He walked out, and the others turned to each other. "Wait... he used to be worse than he is, now?" Zippy questioned.

*Whap!*

Shawn hit her in the face with another pillow.

"Boy, I sure hope things get cleared up," Uncle Ted said. "I'm going to have a talk with Derek, too. If he wants to keep coming here, he's going to have to learn to treat others nicely!"

"No kidding," Shaggy agreed. "It's hard seeing Flip deal with bullies- makes me think about how I was always picked on in school,"

"Too right. I remember my own bully problems back in school," Shawn added. "Some kid always poked fun at me, just because I was so popular- filling my locker with jell-o, tying my shoe-laces together... One time, he switched my shampoo in the locker room out with pink hair-dye, and called me 'Cotton-Candy Head' for six months!"

"I think I could beat that. At my old school, during gym class, the girls switched out my clothes with a frilly dress, so it was either go the whole day in sweaty gym clothes, or look like Princess Peach," Zippy said.

"But, you're a girl, couldn't have been too bad to wear a dress." Uncle Ted stated.

"Who said I wore the dress? I got back at them, though. I sat by them at lunch, and lifted my arms, forcing them to breathe in-"

"I had a worse bully problem!" Shaggy said quickly, before Zippy could cause anyone to lose their lunch. "At my school, before the gang and I were close, Red Herring once pantsed me in front of everyone, then stapled my pants to the ground so I couldn't pull them back out. ...Three teachers and a custodian couldn't restore order, and I had to go home- for a week."

"Sheesh, I never had problems like that in school! I was kind of liked, actually!" Uncle Ted responded. "One time, I opened my locker, and saw that someone left a pet snake in there for me! And then someone filled my desk with silly-putty, which I had fun playing with; and someone always posted funny comics of me on the bulletin board- and they were hilarious, I tell you what! Everyone was sharing their jokes from sixth grade to graduation!"

Everyone looked at him. "Um, Ted? I think those were pranks some bullies pulled on you." Shawn spoke up.

Ted scratched his head. "Really? Huh. I guess I didn't think about it since I was getting such cool stuff,"

"Back to the matter at hand, I wonder what kind of bully Pugsy was," Zippy said, then flinched when Shawn raised a pillow. "And I'm just asking out of honest curiosity!"

"He wasn't as bad as you think," came a voice, and everyone looked over, seeing that- while they were talking- someone new had walked into the apartment.

d~b

Back with Flip, he was walking out of Holly's apartment, sipping a soda. He felt a little better, convincing himself that Pugsy wasn't a total jerk and that Derek was just trying to get to him. He thought about how he just freaked out around his friend earlier, probably hurting his feelings. "Maybe I'll go talk to Pugsy, just to make sure I didn't upset him," he said quietly to himself, walking around the corner, noticing Pugsy walking by.

"'Soon as I find that pre-teen twerp, I'm gonna murdify him," Pugsy was saying to himself. Now, we know he's no doubt talking about Derek, but unfortunately Flip didn't know that.

Flip gasped and went back around the corner, pinning himself against the wall. "He's more upset than I thought!"

Pugsy came around the corner. "There you are, Flip. We need to talk," he said.

With a yelp, Flip took off running in a panic.

Pugsy sighed. "Dang it, of all the times to copy Shaggy's influence-!" he ran after him. "Flip, come back! I just want to talk!"

They ran past Sheldon Cooper, who sighed. "Why do I get the feeling it's the whole 'misunderstanding-issue used to extend the plot' cliche? ...Oh, forget it, I'm going back inside until this is over." he said, walking off.

Flip ran through the lobby doors, quickly pushing the button on the elevator, hitting the button for the top-floor, then running out and hiding in a closet. Pugsy ran in, and- seeing the elevator going up, assumed the kid was going upstairs. "Dang it, Flip..." he muttered, getting into the second elevator to catch up to the other one.

Flip poked his head out, then walked out breathing a sigh of relief... until he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Gah!" he yelped, spinning around.

"Hey, take it easy, kid! I ain't gonna hurt ya!" came a reply from a young man of about 21, with light-brown hair, wearing a white-shirt covered by a brown open-vest, blue jeans... and a red-orange baseball cap that he wore backwards. "Don't you recognize me?"

Flip looked at him a moment, taking note of the cap. "You do look familiar... Wait... Fangs? Sherman Fangsworth, Fangs?"

Fangs smiled, nodding. "Ooh, ooh, you got it right."

"What brings you here?"

"Just came by for a visit... and, well, I heard you've been hearing some stuff about Pugsy's bullying back in school, and how freaked out you are."

Flip cringed. "Y-Yeah... I know he's not really a bully anymore, but... I can't help but get jumpy!"

Fangs shrugged. "I know. I used to be the same way- Pugsy wasn't exactly the nicest kid in school... but that's because some of the kids weren't nice to him, either. Are you familiar with the term, 'it takes a bully to make a bully'?"

"No."

"...Yeah, neither am I. Shawn had to explain it to me. ...But, back in school, before I transferred there, Pugsy was picked on quite a bit- because he was short, because of his vocabulary, or just because some goon wanted a laugh. What made it worse was his temper, so a few guys picked on him just to get a rise out of him. By sixth grade, he was pretty brutal towards a lot of kids- used to call everyone names, shove people in the halls... but nothing too brutal. That is, until I came along,"

Flip looked up at him. "What did he do to you?"

"Well... I had been home-schooled as a kid, so when I went to public school... well, he kind of started picking on me. One day we got into a fight, and he started getting more brutal- punching me in the arm, calling me names, hitting me in the face with a dodgeball... You know, one time he threatened to chase after me with a machete?"

Flip withheld a comment, and instead said, "How did you get him to stop?"

Fangs shrugged. "One day... he just stopped. He came up to me before class one day, apologized, promising he wouldn't torment me like that ever again. I forgave him, and we got along better after that, pretty soon becoming friends."

Flip sighed with relief. "But... do you know about the things he did to Derek Generic?"

Fangs sneered. "THAT kid? Oh jeez, yeah. But he never did anything brutal- called him 'toilet boy' when the kid went around saying Pugs gave him a swirly, or accidentally hit him in the face during a dodgeball game when he snuck off the playground, but nothing brutal. Pugsy was a jerk, but he wouldn't hurt a little kid!"

"Ha! I knew Derek was lying!" he then cringed. "I just wish I believed it, sooner."

Fangs patted him on the back. "It's alright, Flip. We all make mistakes."

Flip walked towards the elevator. "I'd better go find Pugs and apologize. Thanks, Fangs!"

"Anytime!" Fangs said, waving to him.

"Argh! Next time you have a tender-moment, take it elsewhere! You're making my job feel like a hostile work-place! And I'm the only one who's supposed to make it feel that way!" Robotnik snapped, having been reading a magazine from behind his desk, storming off.

Fangs blinked, then turned to Sheldon Cooper who just walked in. "He's not a very nice manager," he said.

"I know- he has this bad habit of announcing his plans for world domination out loud, too." Sheldon scoffed. "I don't do that. I just write them down to share later."

Fangs blinked, watching Sheldon walk off. "O-kay then..."

d~b

Flip walked out into the hall on his floor, rushing back to his apartment. "What's your hurry, Chan?" Derek asked, standing against the wall. "Going back in your apartment to face that goon you're living with?"

Flip clenched his fists, getting sick of Derek's comments. "Maybe after I deal with the goon I'm looking at now!" he retorted. "Back off already, Derek!"

"Hey, I'm just telling you-"

"All your telling me is a bunch of lies! I know Pugsy better than you- he might have been a bully before, but he's changed! And he's not as bad as you say he is- you're just making everything up to scare me. You're the real bully!"

Derek scoffed. "Ooh, I'm SO hurt..." he then gripped Flip by the shirt-collar. "Well, if you want a bully, you got- OW!"

Flip kicked him in the shin. "That's for the lies!" he then punched Derek in the stomach. "And that's for my friend!"

Derek growled, then shoved Flip into the wall, pinning him to it. "That's it! Now you're really going to get it!" A shadow loomed over them just then, and they looked over, both of them gasping.

Standing before them was a hockey-masked figure, holding a machete!

Zippy lifted the hockey-mask. "Is there a problem here, boys?" she asked, suspiciously.

"No problem! Just, um, saying goodnight! 'Night, Flip!" Derek said quickly, then ran down the hall. "UNCLE TED!"

Flip sighed with relief, then turned to Zippy. "You didn't have to scare him off, Zippy. I could handle it," he said to her.

"Oh, I know. I was just on my way to 'Horror-Con', it starts in an hour... Don't know why that kid took off running though." she replied. "You'd think he never saw a girl walking around with a machete before! ...Well, see ya." With that, she walked off whistling.

Flip shook his head, then walked to his apartment. In Shawn and Ted's apartment, he could hear Uncle Ted trying to calm down a startled Derek. "Now, Derek, it's alright! Zippy won't stab anyone with a machete... um, won't she, Shawn?" Ted was saying.

Shaggy walked out of their own apartment. "Hey, Flip. Where've you been?" Shaggy asked.

"Just had to clear my head." Flip replied. "Where are you going?"

"To work, where else? They finally fixed the antenna on the radio-station. So much for a night off, huh?" he thumbed at the door. "Pugsy's waiting for you inside, too. And, ah, don't run this time- he hates that."

Flip nodded, biting his lip and turning to the door, while Shaggy walked off. He walked inside, seeing Pugsy sitting on the couch, watching television, which he turned off when he noticed Flip come in. The 12-year-old took a deep breath, walking over. "Pugs... um... I..." he began to say, quietly.

Pugsy held up his hand, having him pause, then held his arm out, motioning Flip to sit down next to him.

Flip did so, walking over, sitting down, then hugging him, wincing. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's alright, Flip. Sometimes it's a hard fact to face... I guess it's just payback for the bullying I did," Pugsy replied, patting him on the back.

"Yeah, but... you're not a bully now. You're a jerk sometimes, but... you don't really do anything to hurt us. I shouldn't have let Derek scare me... I'm sorry I hurt you,"

"You didn't hurt me- alright, I was a little disappointed when you kept freaking out... but then again, you're not the only one."

"Yeah... Fangs said he was the same way, until you changed. He also told me why you were a bully, and... well... I finally remembered you've changed, too. I just forgot after hearing Derek make up those stories, and seeing how you chase Shaggy around..."

Pugsy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I've still got a lot to change... But, Flip, keep in mind that, even if I lose my temper at times, I won't hurt you- maybe lock Shaggy in a head-lock once in a while, but I'll never be the jerk I once was. I regret the things I've done, and I'll still have my regrets... but I'm willing to move on, and all I ask is that others do the same,"

Flip nodded. "I'll move on, too... I hope Derek does- which may be quick, since Zippy just traumatized him!"

Pugsy chuckled. "Yeah, well, who wouldn't that girl traumatize? ...Wait, did you say Fangs told you everything?"

"Yeah. He said that one day, you just apologized. ...Why did you finally decide to do it?"

Before Pugsy could reply, there was a howl, and suddenly something charged through the door and tackled Pugsy, Flip diving out of the way just in time! He looked over, seeing a well-built werewolf, wearing blue-jeans, a brown open-vest, and red-orange baseball cap, was shaking Pugsy around!

"Gotcha, Pugs! *grr* I knew one of these days I'd find ya!" Fangface exclaimed.

"This- is- why!" Pugsy answered Flip between shakes, then turned to Fangface. "Alright, nit-wolf, you got me! Is this how you greet your best-friend?"

Fangface paused, dropping Pugsy. "Ooh, ooh, sorry Pugs! *grr* It's been a while. Old habits die hard, I guess,"

"Alright, I forgive ya... How did you find out where I lived, anyhow?"

"Ooh, ooh, I ran into Shaggy downstairs, and he told me you guys lived up here! *grr* Ooh, he had a message for me to give you, too!" Fangface reached under his cap, pulling out a note and handing it to Pugsy.

It read: _"That's for making me carpool you at 6 AM on a weekend!"_

Pugsy sneered, standing up. "Alright, where'd that pin-brain go?" he snarled, crumbling the message.

"He said he was heading to work now that the antenna was fixed," Flip said.

"The antenna won't be built until next week..."

"Oh. ...Then I have no idea."

"Ah well... he has to come home sometime,"

Flip crossed his arms. "Pugsy, remember the talk we just had?"

Pugsy looked at him, then sighed after thinking about it. "Alright, I'll let it go this one time."

"Great! I'll go tell him he doesn't have to hide in the garage!" Fangface said, walking out.

Pugsy and Flip exchanged looks, then shrugged, deciding to put the events of the day behind them.

d~b

"For the last time, Derek, there's nothing to be afraid of!" Uncle Ted was telling a still-shaken up Derek. "Now, I want you to march across that hall and apologize to both Flip AND Pugsy,"

"C-C-Can I take a baseball bat with me?" Derek asked.

"Oh, just go, Derek. You're a tough kid, aren't you?" Shawn said.

Derek nodded. "Right. I am! I can handle some freaky-" he opened the door...

...seeing Fangface walking by. The werewolf looked at him, gave a short growl and nod, and continued walking.

He paled a bit, his eyes rolling back as he fell to the floor, fainting.

d~b

**A/N: Sometimes the worst kind of bullying is reminding someone of their past. **

**Please review, don't flame, and we'll see what happens in the next episode!**


	8. Ep 6, Zippy and the Beauty Pageant

**And now for the next episode! **

**Note: This episode is going to be mostly 'Zippy Based' (don't worry, our main characters will have plenty of focus). For those of you who find her to be annoying, go ahead and skip... For those of you who still want a good dose of humor, read on!**

**Also, this episode is based on a 'Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy' episode, **_**My Fair Mandy. **_**If you guys have seen that episode, then you've probably figured out the set-up before you've finished reading this very sentence.**

**Enjoy!**

**d~b**

_*Episode 6*_

_Zippy and the Beauty Pageant_

_(Or, " First Sign of the Apocalypse")_

It was a...

"YEEEAAAAHA-HA-HAAAAA!"

Oh, forget it. We all know it's anything BUT quiet or peaceful around the city of Toonopolis... especially when a certain psycho-side-character shoots around the city on a rocket-powered air-board!

Said psycho happened to be Zippy, who was living up to her name by zipping around buildings and over sky-scrapers, soaring all around. Flying next to her was famous _Treasure Planet _protagonist, Jim Hawkins. "Not bad, ZIP, but lets see if you can beat this stunt!" he called to her, soaring down on his solar-surfer and into a construction site, flying through a giant metal tube, grinding off metal beams, and flying in circles around a wrecking-ball while it was still spinning.

There was a roar, and Zippy looked over, smirking. "Nice, but it's nothing compared to THIS move!" she exclaimed, shooting towards a giant Godzilla-like monster that was destroying the city. She flew towards it, zig-zagging up its back and over its head, and flying through its mouth while it roared! The monster turned and swiped at her, though she only made a face at it. "Catch me if you can, lizard-lips!" she then shot towards the outskirts of town, the monster on her heels.

The monster roared and lunged at her, though she dodged, smirking and pointing down. The monster looked down... noticing Zippy lead it over a cliff. It gulped, waved 'bye-bye' to the audience, and dropped down with a mighty *CRASH!*

At the bottom of the cliff, after the dust settled, we see the monster was just a machine... and Scratch and Grounder climbed out. "I told you to keep your eyes on the road!" Scratch snapped.

"Why?! You were the one driving!" Grounder snapped.

Horace and Jasper climbed out next. "Ooh, Robotnik is going to be real sore at us..." Horace whimpered.

"Which is why we're NOT going to tell him we took it out for a joy-ride!" Jasper hissed.

"But, what about when he finds it missing?" Grounder asked.

"We'll say... aliens stole it!" Scratch answered.

"You really think he'll buy that?" Horace questioned.

"Hey, it always works for Spielberg!" Jasper replied. The giant monster-robot suddenly caught fire, and the lackeys took off.

Back up in the air, Zippy flew up to a building where Jim Hawkins landed, standing by the teen titan Beast Boy, teenage mutant ninja turtle Leonardo, and oddball-superhero Freakazoid. "Dude! That was incredible!" Beast Boy said. "Where'd you learn to ride like that?"

"Ah, I've been cruising on this baby since Junior High," Zippy said, holding up her board. "Nothing too cool,"

"Are you kidding? You've got some awesome skills! And the way you flew right through that monster's mouth- totally gnarly!" Leonardo said.

"Ah, I've done crazier- but you, ZIP, you come pretty close!" Freakazoid added.

"Yeah, you're one daredevil of a guy," Jim said to Zippy.

"Thank you Jim- though I'm a girl, but still, thank you. Now, if you dudes excuse me, there's more insanity I must spread!" Zippy declared, then shot off.

"...ZIP's a girl?" Leonardo questioned.

"Dude..." Beast Boy responded, stunned.

"No, not 'dude' Beast Boy- 'giiirrrrllll'," Freakazoid 'corrected', earning a look from the teen titan.

Zippy flew through the air, lowering towards the streets and crashing into an alley... stumbling out with a dented air-board, which she collapsed into a tiny square and stuck into her pocket, walking up to a hot-dog vendor. "Hey, Louie, two foot-longs, please." she said to the vendor. "And watch the cigar this time, I'm trying to avoid nicotine,"

"Sure, ZIP, here ya go," Louie replied, handing her a pair of hot-dogs, while she handed him cash to pay for it.

She walked off, munching on her meal, when she noticed a familiar face. Holly Trueblood was standing on the corner, with her ex step-sister, Brattina... both of them in an arguement. "My mom is SO totally going to own the competition!" Brattina was bragging.

"Unless there was a contest for the blackest-heart, I highly doubt it." Holly scoffed. "Melody is a shoe-in for the prize! She's beautiful, funny, kind..."

"And a lame-brained. She probably won't even know it's a beauty-pageant until after the first 20 minutes!"

"As ugly as your mother is, they won't even allow her in the beauty-pageant!"

"Says you!"

"Hey, girls, what's with the bickering?" Zippy asked, walking up.

"There's a beauty-pageant in town for women this weekend. Melody entered, but Brattina thinks she doesn't stand a chance against Katrina!" Holly told her.

"That's because my mother is beautiful, talented, AND smart, and Melody's too dumb to enter!" Brattina sneered.

"Hold it... Katrina's that cranky old brood with the wig who runs Trueblood Plaza, right?" Zippy asked.

"Yep," Holly answered.

Zippy turned to Brattina. "Yeah... Holly's right,"

"Hmph, you obviously don't know what it takes!" Brattina sneered to Holly.

"Ah, don't get worked up about it, girls. Beauty Pageants were just created so men could gawk at women and make them feel insecure enough to grow desperate for a date. They're pretty much pointless,"

"Oh, please! What would you know about beauty pageants? You're a guy!"

Zippy gave her a look. "Um... I'm a girl,"

Brattina sniffed. "Oh, no wonder you wouldn't know. You're too much of a dude to be considered a girl," she then walked off. "So long, losers!"

Zippy gave a mock-wave. "Bye, Bratty!"

Holly snickered, walking with her. "Don't let 'Bratty' bother you." she said. "She just thinks she's better than everyone,"

"Yeah, well, she'd better snap out of it- girls like that don't get very far in life. Besides, her comments don't bother me- I like looking like a boy, it's comfortable. No long hair to style, no make-up issues, no other stereotypical female nonsense..."

"Hey, bud, can you spare one of those hot-dogs?" Asked a bum wearing an orange ski-cap and long tan trench-coat, with long black hair in dread-locks.

"Sure, Chester, help yourself." Zippy handed him her second hot-dog.

"Thanks, man! The last guy told me to jump in front of a bus! ...HEY, WAIT! WHERE'S THE MUSTARD?!"

Zippy and Holly quickened their pace. "That guy is a little... weird," Holly said.

"Yeah, but that's why I like him- he gives great movie-reviews, too." Zippy replied.

"Yo, ZIP, over here!" came a voice, and there stood Otto Rocket with his friend, Twister. "We're heading to the new skate-park. Guys get in free on Mondays!"

"Nice! ...But, sadly, I'm not a guy. Is there a night when girls get in free?"

"Yeah, Reggie said it's on Tuesdays... wait, you're a girl?" Twister asked, and Otto nudged him.

"Alright, see ya then!" Otto said, and he and Twister rode off on their skateboards.

"Doesn't that get annoying- people always mistaking you for a boy?" Holly asked her.

"Not really- I like shocking people that way," Zippy told her.

"Yeah, but doesn't it get old?"

"Not really-"

Johnny Bravo suddenly ran up to ZIP. "Hey, Zippy, you got plans this weekend? I'm taking Carl and his other dweeb friends out for a special course on picking up chicks, and could use a wing-man,"

Holly stifled a laugh.

Zippy gave a deadpanned expression, turning to Holly. "Except this time..." she turned to Johnny, taking a calm breath... then bellowed, "I'M A GIRL, LAME-BRAIN!" then flipped him over. "There's a tip- get your genders in order!" She then stormed off, Holly following her.

"Oof... mama! That's one ugly lady!" Johnny grunted.

"See, that's one problem with society now, Holly- girls can't wear jeans or regular T-shirts, because everyone expects us to LOOK like girls. And holding beauty-pageants just supports that kind of idea,"

"Well, maybe you should sign-up, then. Just to prove that any kind of girl can enter," Holly suggested, as they came up to Paradise Towers, where they noticed a man was passing out sign-up sheets for the competition. "At least it'll help get your message out."

"Yeah, but one problem- those pageants REQUIRE that I dress-up, walk like a model, and perform talents that DON'T involve violence,"

"I think it would be a good idea... Besides, it might open up a few eyes, and show everyone how lady-like you can be."

"Me? Lady-like? Pfft, get real."

Holly shrugged, then walked back to Trueblood Plaza.

Zippy looked over at the sign-up table, then shook her head as she walked towards the door. "Hey, little boy, do you know which way Main Street is?" a man asked her.

"...Confound it," Zippy hissed, then turned and swiped a sign-up sheet, storming into the apartment and heading into hers.

She sat down on the couch, taking off her jacket as she looked at the sheet. "...Ah, heck, why did I grab this?" she scoffed, then crumbled it up and threw it on the table. "So I barely look like a girl, it's not like I act like a dude, too!" she said this as she walked across the room, itching her rear and grabbing a soda from the fridge, taking a sip and belching, passing by a mirror...

She paused, looking at her reflection- how she walked with a slouch, her hand in mid-scratch, and considering she was wearing a sleevless T-shirt, she noticed her arm-pit hair seemed to be getting pretty thick...

Abandoning her soda, she grabbed her jacket, throwing it on as she snagged the sign-up sheet, racing out the door.

If she was going to enter, she would need help.

d~b

"Oliver!"

"Harry!"

"Oliver!"

"Harry!"

"_Oliver!"_

"_Harry!"_

Shaggy and Pugsy sat on the couch, having a great debate- who would win a wizard's duel, Harry Potter or Oliver from _Ni No Kuni._

"Harry wouldn't win- it took him 7 YEARS to defeat Voldemort!" Shaggy argued. "Oliver defeated Shadar, probably before the summer was over!"

"But Harry knows more spells, and doesn't have to wave his wand in a bizarre pattern to cast them- he'd have Oliver beaten before the kid finished conjuring a single move!" Pugsy retorted. Flip was walking through the room right then. "Hey, Flip, who do you think would win in a wizard's duel? Harry Potter or Oliver?"

"No competition- Oliver," Flip answered.

"What?!"

"Harry never even finished wizarding school! Oliver learned out on the field- plus, his wand would be more powerful,"

"HA!" Shaggy gloated.

*knock knock* came a sound from the door.

"It's open!" Flip called.

Zippy walked in. "Hey guys- what?" she began, though noticed everyone's surprised looks.

"Zippy... you're using the _front_ _door_?" Shaggy asked, knowing the girl had a tendency to sneak in through the balcony.

"What did you do?" Pugsy questioned, giving her a suspicious look.

Zippy rolled her eyes. "I just have a question for you guys- I don't need to hop over the balcony to ask,"

"You did when you asked us if you could borrow some paper-towels," Shaggy said.

"What's your question?" Flip asked.

Zippy took a deep breath, feeling a little awkward. "Guys... do you think I'm..." she paused a bit, straining to get the word out. "...pretty?"

The guys stared at her, shocked.

Shaggy cleared his throat. "Well, we think you're pretty something..." he replied.

"Yeah- pretty crazified!" Pugsy added.

"Guys!" Flip hissed, then turned to Zippy. "We think you look fine, Zippy. Why do you ask?"

Zippy shifted a bit. "I was, uh, thinking about entering a, um... beauty pageant... thing." she answered, awkwardly.

More shocked looks. Pugsy opened his mouth to say something, but resumed his shocked expression, at a loss for words.

They stared at Zippy, who stared back.

Finally, Shaggy began to snicker nervously, leading Pugsy to chuckle, while Flip laughed.

They then busted into guffaws. "Ha ha haha hee hee hah hah haw haw ho-ho hee hee ha ha heee!" could be heard through out the building.

_3 hours later..._

The guys were still laughing, while Zippy just stood there with a deadpanned expression, suddenly wanting to throw these guys off the balcony. Flip was the first to stop, noticing her expression, and tapped the other guys. "Um, guys? I think she's serious," he said.

"Wait... you're actually considering entering a _beauty pageant_?" Shaggy questioned.

Zippy wordlessly took out the crumbled sign-up sheet, handing it to Pugsy. "An entry form with her name on it- yep, she's serious." he said.

"Uh, Zippy? You do realize that, in order to enter a beauty pageant, you have to... um..." Flip tried to explain, trying to figure out how to say the words without hurting Zippy's feelings.

"...Actually look like a girl," Shaggy finished.

"As in wear a dress, do your hair, put on make-up... like a girl?" Pugsy added.

"Well, that's one reason I want to enter. I'm sick of everyone claiming I'm not 'a girl' and want to prove that tomboys are capable of entering beauty-pageants, too." Zippy answered. "And I came to you guys because... well... I need help getting ready for it."

The guys blinked. "Why would you ask us for help?" Flip asked.

"Because I have no 'girl' friends- you guys are the closest I've got,"

"Goodbye, Zippy." Pugsy deadpanned, shoving her towards the door.

"Oh, c'mon! I meant it in a nice way!" she turned out of his grip. "Look, I'm really serious about this!"

"Like, Zippy, we're _guys_- I doubt we'd be much help with a competition that required wearing a skirt," Shaggy said.

Zippy then held up some pictures. "These pictures of you guys in drag say otherwise,"

Shaggy and Pugsy's eyes bugged out, seeing that- somehow- Zippy acquired old pictures of them disgusing themselves in dresses, back in their early days of meddling (Flip had to stifle another laugh, doubling over as he did). "What the...?! Where did you get those?!" Pugsy demanded.

"Internet. ...But, seriously, you think you guys could help me out?"

"I don't know... you flashing those pictures around isn't exactly helping your case," Shaggy sneered.

Zippy sighed, handing the pictures over- Pugsy immediatly sticking them through a shredder- and crossed her arms. "Now will you help me? Think about it- in a competition judged by guys, what better way for a girl to prepare than be prepared _by_ guys?"

"You know, she does have a point." Flip replied. "There's a lot of things guys look for in a girl- maybe we could help Zippy bring those things to the surface!"

Pugsy looked at Zippy. "...I don't think she could afford that much plastic-surgery- OOF!" he began, grunting when Zippy slugged him in the stomach.

"Uh, you sure you want to help, Flip?" Shaggy questioned the 12-year-old, backing away from the crazy-girl.

"Okay, rule one about being a girl- no sucker-punching guys in the stomach!" Flip told her.

"Psshh, and guys think being a girl is easy... Alright, lets get started," Zippy replied.

"First, try something simple- like walking like a model. Sway your hips a little," Shaggy suggested.

Zippy arched an eyebrow. "Do what with my _what_ now?"

"You know, like this..." Flip replied, then walked with a hand on one hip, swaying his hips a little. "See?"

Pugsy stood up straight, getting the air back in his lungs. "Promise me you won't do that in public," he said. Flip, realizing what he meant, blushed crimson.

"Um... try it, Zippy."

Zippy shrugged, then gave it a try, walking and swaying her hips...

*SNAP!*

"GAH!" She yelled, falling to the ground, holding her side. "Ow... I think I pulled something..."

He, Shaggy, and Flip exchanged glances. "We've got a LOT of work to do..." the stocky young man sighed.

"Lets take five," Shaggy said.

They sat down on the couch, overlooking the requirements for the pageant, involving: Best dress, best swimsuit, talent, cooking, and a 'What would you wish for' speech that they make women give in every pageant.

"They just can't give women anything dignified, can they?" Zippy sneered, looking over the sheet.

"Well, if you want to change your mind, go ahead." Pugsy replied.

"What?! I don't give up that easily! ...but, I'm going to have trouble with the whole 'dress' thing. I don't own one!"

"I'll bet Shag or Pugs have some you could try on," Flip joked. Pugsy swatted him with his hat.

"What about the swimsuit part?"

"Don't you own one?"

"Well..." Zippy took out a picture of her in an old-fashioned vintage swim-suit.

"Sheesh, I thought those things went out of style after the 50's!" Pugsy commented.

"Looks like we're going to have to go shopping," Shaggy said.

"WE?!" Flip and Pugsy questioned.

d~b

"I am never going to be able to go out in public again," Pugsy muttered as he and Flip sat on a bench in a shop at the mall, while Shaggy and Zippy looked at dresses. "Seriously, we couldn't have asked Melody, Holly, or some other woman to come along?!"

"Pugs, women are pretty much the most critical creatures on the planet- if we brought more along, we'd be stuck here forever." Zippy told him, looking at a dress. "Geez, don't they make anything with straps, anymore?!"

"Here, ZIP, try this one on." Shaggy said, handing her a dark-blue dress. She sighed, taking it and walking into the dressing room.

"You know, I kind of feel for Zippy. Having to do this just to feel beautiful..." Flip said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, well, if she were a guy it would be easier- but she's a girl. In this day and age, girls are supposed to doll themselves up just to get some positive feedback," Pugsy said. "We guys are lucky, we don't have to do too much to look hansom."

"So what the heck happened to you?" Zippy asked from the dressing room.

Pugsy clenched his fists. "Nothing as bad as what probably happened to you, ya cross-dresser!"

"It takes one to know one!"

"Zippy, just try on the dress and try not to make a scene," Shaggy begged. "I don't want to get kicked out of another store!"

"You know, I think Zippy's going to need help with more than just her looks," Flip whispered.

"Oh, you THINK?" Pugsy hissed.

Zippy stepped out, wearing the dark-blue dress... the skirt of it covering her feet and even dragging behind her. "Yeah, I think this one's a little long, Shag." she commented, lifting the skirt enough so not to trip on it.

"Like, it was the longest one I could find," Shaggy said, looking through some more dresses... then noticed someone coming. "Wuh-oh. Guys, trouble at two o'clock!"

Zippy looked over, gasping and hiding behind Pugsy, as Katrina and Brattina walked over. "Honestly, don't they make ANY dresses that go past the hips?" Katrina was griping. They paused when they noticed the guys. "What are you guys doing in here? You do realize you're in the dress-department, don't you?"

"We're, um, looking for a, uh, gift for one of my sisters," Flip lied, deciding to protect Zippy's dignity. "We decided to find her a dress,"

Katrina arched an eyebrow, not convinced. "You're ALL looking for a dress for her?"

"Yeah, what's so weird about it? (...hey, watch it!)" Pugsy questioned... whispering that last part after getting nudged forth a bit, when Zippy pressed against him, trying to keep hidden. Brattina arched an eyebrow, casually walking to the side...

"I just think it's odd for some men to-"

"Oh my gosh! Zippy, are you wearing a DRESS?!" Brattina exclaimed, shoving Pugsy away, revealing Zippy, and busted out laughing.

"Oh dear Lord, not another drag-queen..." Katrina remarked.

Zippy fumed. "It's not uncommon for a girl to wear a dress, what's so funny?" she retorted.

"Well, for one thing, I hardly classify you as a girl... or even a human."

"I think the same thing about you,"

"What finally made you attempt to look feminine?" Brattina questioned.

"Zippy's entering the beauty pageant in town, just to prove any kind of girl can enter," Flip answered... though Zippy wished he kept his mouth shut.

"BWAHAHAHAHA!" Katrina and Brattina both busted out laughing this time.

"Apparently, everyone finds it funny." Pugsy commented, earning a look from Zippy.

"I don't know if you realize it, Zippy, but in order to enter a beauty pageant- you have to be beautiful!" Katrina chided.

"So why are YOU entering?" Zippy retorted.

Katrina huffed. "Because, unlike you, I actually KNOW how to look like a woman."

"Could've fooled me,"

"Oh, look who's talking! You're having a bunch of GUYS do the shopping for you- I think they know more about being women than you do!" Brattina scoffed.

"Hey!" Shaggy snapped.

"Come along, Brattina- we'd better get going, before we get our genders mixed up as well," Katrina huffed. "I would wish you 'good luck', Zippy... but I doubt they'll let a cross-dresser enter," With that, they walked off.

The guys stood there, Zippy fuming. "Okay, I changed my mind. I'm going to go plot some assassination attempts..." the tomboy sneered.

"Oh, no... You're going to enter that beauty pageant, and you're going to WIN it." Pugsy said firmly, glaring in the direction Katrina walked. "And so help me, you're going to SHOW that she-beast what it really takes to be a woman! C'mon!" he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her away. "Guys, keep looking for more dresses! We've got work to do!"

"Like, right man! ...Show that witch we've got tastes," Shaggy said, muttering that last part as he grabbed a few dresses.

Flip blinked. "We are SO going to need a 'guys only' weekend after this..." he said to himself, feeling as if they were risking their masculinity in helping out Zippy.

d~b

_[Now Playing: "She's A Lady" by Tom Jones]_

The guys spent the rest of the week preparing Zippy for the pageant (this is where the montage comes in)

First, they went through some dresses for her, Shaggy and Flip helping her pick. She walked out, wearing a turquoise dress with sparkles on it, with long sleeves that Shaggy picked out.

Pugsy, being the one to rank, shook his head 'no'.

They decided to skip the swim-suit shopping, deciding Zippy could do that on her own, and went right to the 'talent' part. Now, Zippy was a girl of many talents, so the guys wondered (and feared) what she could do. Especially since most of them involved weaponry.

She demonstrated training a falcon to do tricks... though once she took the cover off its head, it went right after the guys.

After catching the falcon, the guys decided to take a break from the talent-search, and Shaggy decided to show her how to cook- since she didn't really have much experience- showing her how to make a cake first.

*BOOM!*

...It did not go well, as the kitchen was soon filled with smoke, both of them charred.

Next, she came out wearing a black dress with a pink line diagnolly going around it, which Flip had picked out.

Pugsy made a 'cut' motion.

Going back to the talent training, she demonstrated juggling saw-blades... though threw one too far and nearly took Pugsy's head off, and he gave her a glare.

Shaggy then tried teaching her how to make Spaghetti, which turned out okay... or so it seemed. Flip had to be the taste-tester first, took a bite... then ran to the bathroom to vomit.

Zippy then wanted to demonstrate another talent... which involved a chainsaw. Pugsy immediately took it away, shaking his head.

She then tried her knack at making fried chicken. Pugsy was the taste-tester this time... though after trying a bite, made a rude comment, and Zippy tried to dive over the counter to strangle him, Shaggy holding her back.

Finally, she came out wearing a red-and-white 'dipped' dress (where it was red at the bottom but faded to white near the top), the collar being tied around the neck.

Pugsy gave a thumbs up.

While going over to ask her if there were any talents Zippy had that didn't involve something violent, Flip saw her writing in a notebook labeled 'Poetry', and- reading over her shoulder- was impressed, and giving her a 'thumbs-up'.

She made one final attempt at cooking- making muffins. This time, however, they actually came out good! Shaggy was the taste-tester, and gave her a thumbs up.

Zippy felt relieved. She was finally prepared.

_[End song]_

d~b

The night of the pageant finally arrived, as Pugsy, Shaggy, and Flip stood outside the building. "Shawn said he would be dropping her off in ten minutes. I wonder what's keeping them?" Shaggy said, knowing the pageant was going to start in less than an hour.

"He probably went into shock after hearing the news," Pugsy joked. "Still, I wonder why ZIP couldn't just drive herself?"

"She hates driving, and Shawn's car as tinted windows." Flip answered.

Finally, Shawn's car pulled up. "Allow me to introduce our star of the pageant... Zee Isaiah Pugnacious," the celebrity announced as he stepped out, opening Zippy's car door.

The guy's eyes widened when they saw her. She had her hair done-up, was wearing a little bit of make-up, stood elegantly in her dress... and, for once, looked like a lovely young woman.

"Whoa..." Pugsy said, while Shaggy's jaw dropped, and Flip gawked.

"Stop staring you guys, it's not THAT big of a change," Zippy scoffed, rubbing her arm.

The mysterious masked figure we often see lowered himself down on a zip-line, making a wolf-whistle, then shot back up. Zippy blushed.

"C'mon, lets get inside. The contest is going to start soon," Shawn said, after clearing his throat, and they entered the building.

What they didn't notice was Katrina and Brattina had been spying on them from around the corner. "I-I-I don't believe it! Zippy... s-s-she actually looks like a girl!" Brattina stammered. "And... and a beautiful one at that!"

"Yes... but just because she LOOKS like a girl doesn't mean she ACTS like one," Katrina replied, smirking. "And we're going to make sure the judges know it!" she took out her cell-phone.

"What are you doing, mom?"

"Just calling a friend for a favor, honey. We're going to make sure we're the ONLY stars of this pageant!"

d~b

The guys sat down in their seats, watching as the competition got started. The first part of the pageant included all the women walking along the stage, as the announcer, Chet You-Betcha, made the introduction. "Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to this year's Toonopolis Beauty Pageant! Judging the event tonight is Total Drama series star, Chris McLean,"

Christ McLean was sitting in his chair, coolly, giving a wave.

"Million-dollar and single-browed Bikini Bottom resident, Squilliam Fancyson,"

Squilliam gave a grin, casually waving.

"And... um... Gir?"

Gir, dressed in his green-dog suit, waved wildly to the camera. "What's with the... dog?" Squilliam asked Chris.

"The other guy called in sick at the last minute, and we needed a third." Chris answered. "All he has to do is just sit there, anyway."

"Look at all the pretty girls! HI GIRLS!" Gir shouted, waving to the contestants. Melody waved back, giggling.

Squilliam gave a look. "I doubt he will." he muttered.

"*ahem* Well, lets get started! Tonight, one of these wonderful women will win the honor of being Miss Toonopolis! Lets introduce them, shall we?" Chet exclaimed, standing by the women as they were lined up. "First, we have Starfire. Starfire is a native from the planet Tamaran, who now lives on Earth and works with the Teen Titans. She loves cute animals, funny movies, and is much stronger than she looks!"

Starfire smiled at the audience, waving shyly.

"Next up we have Sam Sparks, a weather-girl from Swallow Falls, currently working at SparkWood Inc. with her boyfriend, Flint Lockwood."

Sam waved sheepishly, chuckling a bit.

"And here we have Paulina, a high-school graduate from Amityville Park. She's majoring in fashion-designs at her beauty-school, loves walks through the parks, and likes puppies,"

Paulina gave a wave and a wink to the audience.

"Then we have Bonnie, a graduate from Middleton High and college student. She's a cheerleader captain at her college, is into romantic movies... and..." Chet squinted as he read the card. "Would really appreciate it if no one compared her to Kim Possible. ...Okay, someone's got issues..."

Bonnie gave Chet a glare.

"Next we have- GOOD GRAVY!" Chet panicked when he got to Katrina, who was striking a pose. "Er, I mean, uh... K-Katrina S-Stoneheart! Katrina is a single mother, manages an apartment, and... and... and lets move on!"

Katrina glared at Chet as he hurried by, the announcer shuddering.

"And here we have Melody. Melody is a drummer for the band _The Pussycats, _performing with her friends Josie and Melody. She loves romantic movies, music, cute animals, travelling, and pink."

Melody giggled, waving to everyone.

"And our final contestant is Zee Isaiah Pugnacious... or as she likes to be called, ZIP. Zippy is a writer, volunteers at pet shelters, and isn't afraid to perform daredevil stunts."

Flip waved to Zippy, who gave a shy wave back.

"Now, with the introductions out of the way, time for our first contest- the Best Dress!"

Starfire took a step forth, showing her light-purple, glittering dress. The audience did some 'oohs' and 'aahs' while the judges nodded. "Ooooooooh, shiny," Gir commented.

Sam Sparks stepped up next, wearing a light-blue dress with white transparent sleeves. "Woo-hoo!" Flint Lockwood called from the audience, standing and letting out a whistle, only to get yanked back down by his father, Tim.

Paulina made a pose, wearing a burgundy, glimmering dress with a transparent shawl. A few guys in the audience whooped.

Bonnie stood next to her, showing her lavender-and-lilac colored dress, which had a ripple-like pattern in the colors. "Kim's still hotter!" came a call from the audience. Bonnie glared, sneering.

Katrina stepped up, wearing a blue dress with a black trim. The audience remained quiet.

Melody walked up in a white, glimmering, single-sleeved dress. "So pretty..." Gir swooned, and the audience agreed (one guy fainted with hearts bubbling over his head).

Zippy meekly walked up, wearing her red-and-white dipped dress. The audience responded with more 'oohs' and 'aahs', and the judges gave approving nods. Shaggy, Pugsy, Flip and Shawn smiled at her, giving a thumbs-up.

"As the judges are tallying the scores, lets give a round of applause to our contestants! Ladies, you are free to go change for the next event- the Swimsuit competition!" Chet said.

~_One scene-change later...~_

"And we're back! Lets see what kind of swim-wear our elegant contestants have chosen! First up is Melody, in a stunning pink polka-dot bikini, with a pink swim-skirt tied around the waist,"

Melody walked across the stage in her swim-suit. Several guys' jaws dropped. "Hey, Shag, mind moving your tongue AWAY from the popcorn?" Pugsy sneered at Shaggy, swiping a bucket of popcorn they bought.

"There was a popcorn vendor?" Flip questioned.

"Up next, is Starfire, wearing a lovely purple once-piece!" Chet announced.

Starfire flew on stage, landing next to Melody. "Ooh, I like your swimsuit!" she said.

"Thank you! Yours is most stunning as well, I saw a few men pass out... Um, that is a good sign, isn't it?" Starfire asked, and Melody giggled.

Out next came Sam in a aqua two-piece, wearing short jean-shorts, followed by Bonnie who wore a violet bikini. "I wonder what kind of swimsuit Zippy will wear," Shawn inquired.

"We decided to let her pick one out. Chances are, she chose one with shorts and a cover-shirt," Pugsy joked, sipping a soda.

"Up next is Zippy... in a dark-blue two-piece!" Chet announced.

Zippy hesitantly walked on, showing off her new swimsuit.

"SPPPTTHH!" Pugsy spewed, gasping a bit, and fell to the ground, in utter shock.

"Wow, Zippy, you're really working it tonight!" Melody commented, pointing over where Pugsy once sat. "Some guy just had a heart-attack!"

"I hope he's choking on his soda, too," Zippy muttered, blushing a bit.

"And finally we have Katrina StonehaaOLY CRUD!" Chet announced/shrieked.

Katrina pompously walked out, wearing a purple two-piece. The audience was in utter shock, silent, and men were passing out for a different reason.

"It's the giant purple people-eater!" Gir screamed.

Chris McLean gagged. "We've censored things less disgusting..." he groaned, while Squilliam shielded his eyes.

"Um... well... uh... Lets move on!" Chet said, motioning the stage-hands to rapidly close the curtains before anyone else could go blind.

The women went back-stage, Katrina sitting by Brattina as she did her make-up. "Mother, no offense, but I think several of these girls are winning the judges over!" Brattina whispered. "How are you supposed to win?"

"The only way I know how to win, Brattina- by cheating," Katrina replied. "Honey, it's time we thinned out the competition,"

Brattina nodded.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Starfire, there you are!" Brattina gasped, racing forth. "I just saw a huge monster attacking the city, the other titans ran to stop it, but need your help!"

"Really? Robin would have informed me..." Starfire questioned.

"There was no time! The monster was, uh, destroying a kitten-shelter!"

"Oh my gosh! Don't worry, young feline offpsprings, I shall help save you!" Starfire flew out of the building.

Next, Brattina ran to Sam Sparks. "I heard there's a HUGE tornado stirring up- but the weather-man can't make it in! If someone doesn't trace that storm soon-"

"Say no more! Some things are more important than beauty-contests," Sam said, rushing out with her weather-advisor.

Brattina looked at Bonnie and Paulina, then pointed across the street. "Hey! Kim Possible's getting dumped, over by a shoe-sale!"

"Where?!" Bonnie and Paulina exclaimed, running out the door... and Brattina locked it behind them.

Katrina walked out of a changing room, back in her dress. "Well? Is everyone gone?" she asked.

"I managed to get rid of most of the competition- all that's left is Melody and Zippy," Brattina replied.

Katrina chuckled. "I already have a plan to get Zippy out of the competition,"

"Ladies, five minutes until the next event!" a stage-hand called.

"We'll deal with Melody later. I doubt that twit has a good talent anyway,"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A drum-solo was more than impressive for Melody, as she played a rhythm on her drums. Squilliam, more into classical music, plugged his ears; Chris McLean tapped his fingers to the beat, impressed; and Gir was rocking his head and jamming out.

The audience cheered after Melody finished, and Brattina looked at Katrina. "What now, mom?" she asked.

"Now, I do MY talent," Katrina huffed, walking out wearing a smok and wheeling in a pottery-table with a large lump of clay on it. She then began to work away.

Chet, meanwhile, spoke with some stage-hands. "We looked everywhere, sir, but the only contestants left are Zippy, Melody... and that creepy woman," one stage-hand said.

"Well, keep looking, otherwise they'll be disqualified... ugh, why couldn't Katrina have disappeared instead?" Chet asked.

Flip, who had walked backstage to see how Zippy was doing, overheard this and got suspicious, then ran back to the guys, telling them about it. "So, like, half the competition is gone?!" Shaggy gasped.

"And I bet I know who did it," Shawn sneered, crossing his arms as he looked at Katrina on stage. "Honestly, the things women do to win these things..."

Once Katrina was done sculpting, she had made a bust of the 3 judges, with the words, "Pick Me!" written on the base. The judges only sighed- save for Gir, who was thinking about eating the clay.

Next came Zippy. "For my talent, I've chosen to recite a poem by Bradley Hathaway," she announced, then cleared her throat. "'The Hug Poem,'"

Squilliam yawned, Chris rolled his eyes, and Gir... was spinning in his chair.

Zippy began...

_"I read about how you touched them,_

_And they were healed,_

_Or if someone even touched your cloak_

_They were forever changed..._

_You let a broken woman bathe your feet in her tears,_

_And you washed your best friends' feet._

_I'm just wondering though... did you ever just hug people?"_

She not only recited it, she acted as if she were actually talking to someone, and even paced a bit rather than just stand still, gesturing with her hands as she recited the next lines.

_"I mean, I know it's a silly question, and I'm sure you would have._

_Why wouldn't you?_

_But it's one of those things that was never mentioned that got me thinking about it._

_And how, when there was a touch from you, sins were forgiven, and sickness fell!_

_I think I'm caught up in my sins..._

_Last I checked, all my body parts were working..._

_Nothing special here,_

_I'm just a kid with a heavy heart these passing sunrises and sunsets."_

By this time, the audience was tuned in, listening to the emotion, watching every movement. Even Gir managed to sit still, listening somewhat.

_"I don't think our encounter would have ended up in the Gospels or anything,_

_Because all I really need is a hug._

_That's okay for me to imagine right?_

_That's not going to be conflicting to any theology, is it?"_

She paused a beat, as if waiting for a reply.

_"Okay, good._

_Then hug me._

_But not one of those sideways, arm-around-the-neck type hugs,_

_Or the ghetto right-hand, clasp fists, elbows-to-chest pit-pat on the back-back,_

_Or you put your left arm over my left arm, and I put my right arm over your right arm,_

_And we do this weird diagnol thing..._

_Nah, none of those..._

_**Bear-hug me, man!"**_

That last part came out loud and emotional, making a few people give a jolt, some chuckled a bit.

_"Take your old-school carpenter arms and wrap them around my upper-body_

_Leaving my arms dangling underneath yours somewhere, and I can barely move them_

_Because you're squeezing so hard..._

_But don't pick me up and make my back pop, because I hate it when people do that._

_Just hold me..._

_Hold me in your arms until I start to cry, because..._

_...I want to cry..."_

She was wincing at that last part, her voice choking a bit, a few members of the audience joining. Shaggy sniffled, and a teary-eyed Shawn handed him a tissue.

_"But I just can't seem to do it on my own._

_I have been teary-eyed once, recently, but not enough for a drip down my cheek._

_There's just hurt in my soul that needs to be purged..._

_So hold me in this hold pose,_

_Until the pain is flowing from my eyes and nose."_

Once finished, she stood still, and dropped the mike.

The audience applauded. Chris nodded with a shrug, Squilliam still looked bored, and Gir was cheering wildly. "Hooray for huggy poems!" he shouted.

"Well... there's a side of Zippy I didn't think existed," Pugsy said, a bit surprised.

"Oh, yes, she can be emotional. You shoul've seen her on Speech Team back in highschool," Shawn said.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, while the judges round up their scores, lets move on to the cooking part of the competition!" Chet announced, as the three contestants walked back on, standing behind some kitchen-counters. "Each contestant has an hour to make an excellent dish for our judges to taste, and... have at it, ladies!"

The women began cooking. Melody made spaghetti, Zippy made her muffins, and Katrina made a roast. "Say, Melody, do you have any pepper I could use? It seems I'm out," Katrina asked her.

"Sure, let me check," Melody said, turning to look under the counter. While no one was looking, Katrina poured something into her sauce.

"Oh, never mind! I just remembered the recipe doesn't call for it, bye!" With that, she went back to her roast, earning a suspicious glance from Zippy.

Once the food was ready, the judges tasted them... Gir went crazy over the muffins, scarfing them down. "Hey, leave some for us!" Chris sneered, managing to snag one before Gir could devour it.

"Excellent muffins, Zee. I've had better, but not bad by mediocre standards," Squilliam commented. "And Katrina, your roast was marvelous!"

"Thank you," Katrina said, grinning boastingly at Zippy.

They then tried Melody's spaghetti... and their faces contorted into sickening glances, and they quickly guzzled down their waters (save for Gir, who ate the whole thing despite the taste). "Yech! Geez, Melody, what did you put in this?" Chris demanded.

"Just noodles, tomato sauce, and hamburger," Melody replied, meekly.

"Well *hack* it tastes like you smothered it with Tobasco sauce!" Squlliam added, gagging.

"Spicy. Please, sir, can I have some more?" Gir asked.

Melody's head hung low, and Zippy patted her on the back.

"Ooh, doesn't look like it went well for Melody, folks... but hopefully she'll make up for it with our final event!" Chet exclaimed. "We're down to 3 contestants... namely because the rest have yet to show up, earning them disqualification."

"Katrina is cheating!" Someone shouted from the audience.

"No she's not! Pipe down!" Brattina snapped, happening to be sitting by that person and swatting them upside the head.

"Erm, right... on to the finally!" Chet announced.

While the three contestants were backstage, Katrina stood by the wall by a lever. "Oh, Melody, I think you dropped an earring back there," she said, pointing over to a square part of the floor.

"Where?" Melody questioned, walking by.

*Ka-chunk!*

"AUGH!" Melody shrieked, as Katrina made her fall through a trap-door!

Zippy ran over. "Melody?!" She called, then turned to Katrina. "Alright, you snob, what have you've done with the rest of the girls?!"

"I'm doing nothing but winning a competition. Honestly, Zippy, why don't you just go home now? You know you're not lady-like enough to qualify." Katrina huffed.

"I'm more a lady than you'll ever be, Stoneheart!"

"You think a change of looks is enough? Please. Step aside and I'll show you how a woman is supposed to act!" With that, she walked off, Zippy glaring daggers at her.

_~Another scene-change!~_

"And here's our final contestants! First up is Mel-" Chet began, until there came a chipmunk-like yammering from his ear-piece. "What's that, Alvin? ...She what?! ...Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid that another one of our contestants dropped out of the competition! Meaning our final contestants are actually Zippy and... ugh... Katrina."

There were murmurings amongst the crowd, while the guys exchanged glances, wondering what Katrina had in store for Zippy.

The two final contestants stood on stage, Chet standing by them. "Alright, ladies, and the final event is just a simple, cliche question that we ask at every pageant: If you had one wish, what would you use it for?" he ask, holding the microphone up to Katrina first.

"Well, I'd wish for world peace," Katrina said, using a cliche line for a cliche category.

"Yeah right!" Pugsy called.

"Shut up, creep!" Brattina shouted, smacking him with her purse, earning a glare.

"...Typical," Chet said, rolling his eyes, then walked over to Zippy. "Alright, Zippy, do you have a less cliche answer?"

"I would wish for-" Zippy began to say.

*CRASH!*

Suddenly, another robotic Godzilla-like monster crashed through the building, roaring! Inside its head, working the controls behind tinted windows, was Robotnik. "It's a good thing I had a spare robot lying around," Robotnik said, giving his lackeys a glare. "Especially after my LAST one fell off a cliff!"

"We're sorry, boss..." The lackeys whimpered.

The audience screamed, and ran off. "WHOA!" Zippy cried, then developed a determined look. "Looks like it's time for this beauty to tame a beast!" she then ripped off her dress, revealing a pair of jeans and her T-shirt underneath, then took out her cap and placed it on her head, and whipped out her gravity-board, soaring up at the monster... with a machete! "Chew on this, metal-head!"

The monster roared, swiping at her, while she clicked a button on the side of her weapon, making bolts of electricity shoot out of it, and stabbed the monster in the back! It roared as it was electrocuted... sadly, it only lead it to a malfunction! "Agh! I can't control it!" Robotnik cried, trying to work the machine, but had no control.

The monster-machine, now with a mind of its own, tore through the building. "I did NOT sign up for this!" Chris shouted.

"This is just like a Japanese film!" Gir exclaimed, watching the disaster unfold while munching on popcorn.

Zippy soared around, avoiding the monster's tail as it crashed through a wall, the ceiling beams falling towards some audience members. "Whoa, look out!" she cried, shooting down and shoving them out of harm's way, then shot back up at the monster. Seeing some cables dangling from the busted ceiling, she grabbed one and zipped around the monster, tying it up long enough for her to fly towards the front of it.

It roared loudly, and Zippy took out a grenade, chucking it down the monster's throat while it was still roaring...

*BOOM!*

An explosion erupted from inside, billowing out of the mouth of the machine and blowing Zippy onto the stage, while the monster fell to the side, breaking apart like a broken toy. Robotnik and his lackeys stumbled out, waving away smoke, then noticed everyone staring at them. "Oh! Um, thanks for saving us from this mechanical monster that... ate us! Bye!" Robotnik said quickly, and they took off.

Everyone looked around at the damage, then at Zippy, who was now back to looking like her boyish self. "As I was saying..." she said, clearing her throat. "If I had a wish... I'd wish for a world where women didn't have to wear make-up, or dress up, or flaunt their curves just to feel attractive, but be appreciated for who they are, and what they can do. ...Thank you."

Chris and Squlliam stepped forth (Gir was busy poking the monster with a stick), and cleared their throats. "Well, Zippy, that's a very nice speech, and very heartwarming," Chris said. "But... in order to win the beauty pageant, you have to LOOK like a girl... and right now, you pretty much lost the look."

"That, and you're totally psycho!" Squilliam added. "At least the rest of the competitors had some decent looks!"

"Pardon me, but she just saved our necks!" Pugsy spoke up, as the guys stepped forth.

"Yeah, well, if there was a 'fighting a giant monster' event, she would have won... But this is a BEAUTY pageant, guys- looks are the only thing that count for women." Chris said, then looked at Katrina. "BEAUTIFUL Women, keep that in mind."

"EXCUSE US?!" came a shout, and they looked, seeing the rest of the competition had returned, Bonnie being the one who spoke.

"Ladies! So glad you've returned! ...Maybe we could restart and have a decent pageant-" Squilliam began.

"Forget it, dude. If you just care about us looking beautiful outside, but not inside... then I'm out!" Paulina huffed. "I may have been a popular, beautiful girl in school- but now I'm a popular, beautiful young woman, and I don't need some judge to tell me that!"

"Yeah, that was pretty sexist," Sam added.

"Perhaps I would not be considered beautiful either, for I fight monsters as well!" Starfire huffed.

"And I might not be smart, but I still know what it really takes to be a woman!" Melody added.

"C'mon, girls, lets ditch this joint." Zippy suggested, and they all walked out.

"By the way, I think your drum solo was awesome," Shaggy told Melody.

"Hee hee, thank you!" Melody replied.

"Wait... but if the rest of the competition is gone... then that means the only winner is..." Squilliam gasped.

"I'm ready for my reward, boys!" Katrina exclaimed, stepping forth.

"Oh man, we can't have her be the winner!" Chris cried. "That woman's ugly- inside AND out! Our careers will be shot!"

Squilliam quickly looked around, grabbed Gir, and put a dress on him, handing him a sash and bouquette. "Here! You're the winner! Congrats!" he said quickly.

Gir's eyes welled up, and he smiled. "I'm so happy!" he exclaimed. "I would like to thank all the little people, and the little animals, and the little things in life!"

"WHAT?! You mean I got rid of all the contestants, hired some nut to unleash a giant robot on that psycho-girl to get her disqualified, AND YOU CHOSE SOME GREEN DOG OVER ME?!" Katrina bellowed.

"That... and the sabotage you caused earned YOU an automatic disqualification!" Chris snapped. "SECURITY!"

Katrina was then hauled off by two security guards. "Er, wait! I was just kidding!"

Brattina groaned. "Great... now where am I going to get my allowance?" she sneered.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day, Shaggy, Pugsy, and Flip were lounging around the backyard. "Man, I can't believe Zippy still didn't win," Flip sighed.

"Ah, they picked the wrong judges, that's all." Pugsy scoffed.

"Yeah. To tell the truth, she did pretty good." Shaggy said. "Actually... It would be nice to see more girls like her,"

"Aw, thanks Shaggy!" Zippy exclaimed, popping up right beside him... then gave him a big kiss on the lips! "Mmmwuah! See ya around, good-looking." With that, she clicked a button, activating a jet-pack and shooting off.

Shaggy began to twitch, gagging as he did. "I take it back!" he choked, writhing on the ground.

Pugsy and Flip looked at each other, shook their heads, then reached up, pulling down a window-shade over the screen that red, "END".

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**A/N: Sorry this episode took a while to write, but I hope you all liked it anyway.**

**Please review, but no flames.**


	9. Ep 7: Two and a Half Men and a Baby

**Well, here's the next episode, at last! Apologies for the long wait... but I've been procrastinating :P**

**d~b**

_Episode 7_

_Two-and-a-half Men and a Baby_

It was an early Friday morning as our protagonists awoke to another usual day in Paradise Towers. Pugsy was the first to wake up in the mornings, often getting up as early as 6 in order to enjoy as much solitude in the morning as he could; Flip would be the next to get up about an hour later, drowsily getting dressed and eating breakfast before heading off to school; and Shaggy would be the last one up, sleeping in as late as 7:30, until Pugsy would barge into his room and claim if he didn't get up that minute, he would be _walking_ to work.

Though, what they didn't realize was that their weekly routine would have a slight change that weekend.

It was after Pugsy got up, getting some coffee to help wake himself up, and sitting out on the balcony, breathing in the fresh air. On the balcony next door there was a masked figure, standing on the edge epically as he glanced over the city. ...Pugsy only arched an eyebrow, nodding to the stranger who nodded back. He had seen the masked figure around before, but never really introduced himself- namely because the figure would vanish in the blink of an eye, as he did the moment Pugsy looked out at the sunrise then back over.

He walked back inside, sitting down on the couch and turning on the television. By this time, Flip was getting out of bed, groggily walking over, yawning as he sat down at the island-counter, resting his head on his arms. "Morning," Pugsy said to him.

"Mmfin'..." Flip mumbled, still trying to wake up.

"Ah, wake up, Flip- it's Friday. Just one more day until you get to sleep in,"

"Yeah..." Flip only yawned again.

Pugsy walked over, starting some toaster-waffles, looking at the 12-year-old suspiciously. "Did you stay up all night playing _The Last of Us _again? You're usually half-awake in the mornings,"

"No, no... just been up... studying..." Flip's head hit the counter with a soft *thunk*, and he began to snore.

Pugsy rolled his eyes, then reached under the counter, pulling out an air-horn.

*Bleeeep!*

Flip jolted awake. "Gah! Alright, I'm up! I'm up!" he snapped, breathing hard. "Sheesh, Pugs, do you have to do that every time?!"

"Only with Shaggy," Pugsy replied with a shrug.

Speaking of Shaggy, the lanky coward came walking in. "Man, Pugs, what's with the wake-up call? I still had another half-hour to sleep in!" he groaned.

"Ah, let it go. You need to start getting up early, anyways, rather than waiting on me to get your rear out of bed for work,"

"Don't you have an alarm-clock, Shaggy?" Flip asked.

"Yeah- it's in Pugsy's hand," Shaggy replied, swiping the air-horn from Pugsy.

"Pardon me for being the responsible one," Pugsy scoffed, walking into the bathroom to get ready for work, handing Flip a plate of waffles.

"Like, I hope we get on a later morning schedule..." Shaggy poured himself a bowl of cereal, sitting across from Flip.

"I hope Fall Break gets here soon," Flip replied, yawning again.

*Knock knock knock*

"Who could that be?" Shaggy asked.

"I don't know... maybe Uncle Ted got locked out while getting the paper again," Flip replied, walking over to the door and answering it. "Yes? ...Um, hello?" he looked up and down the hall, not seeing anyone around. "Huh, must've been a ding-dong-ditch..."

There was a cooing sound just then, and he looked down, his eyes widening.

"Um... Shaggy? Come over here, quick!"

Shaggy walked over. "What is... it...? Zoinks!" he gasped.

"Who's at the door-" Pugsy began to ask, walking over as well, stopping in his tracks. "...Leaping ignorpotomases!"

Sitting on their doorstep in a little basket was a tiny baby, who looked up at them, cooing once more.

"Like, how'd a baby get on our doorstep?!" Shaggy gasped.

"A better question would be, who the heck would leave a baby on a stranger's doorstep?" Pugsy replied.

Flip walked out, checking around the halls for any trace of whoever left the baby behind. "No one's around... Do you think it was abandoned?" he asked.

"We'd better call the police," They picked up the basket, bringing it inside.

d~b

"Yes, I'd like to report a child-abandonment," Pugsy said over the phone, while Shaggy sat on the floor with the infant, and Flip was getting ready for school. "...We don't know, there was a knock at our door, and when we opened it, we just found it there. ...Yes, I'll hold,"

By this time, Shawn K. came over, Zippy at his side. "Morning, guys. We were wondering if you wanted to come with us to a comic-con this we-" Shawn began to ask, until they noticed the baby. "Huh?"

"Oh. My. Gosh..." Zippy gasped.

"Don't ask questions- we just found the kid on the doorstep this morning," Shaggy said quickly.

"It's so CUTE!" Zippy walked over, sitting in front of the baby, tickling its cheek and making him giggle. "Who's a wittle cutie-pie? You are! Yes you are!"

"Alright... Yes, I understand. Thank you." Pugsy said, hanging up the phone and sighing. "Well, they said they would call around and keep us posted, but suggested we watch the kid in case someone turns up looking for it. If no one comes around in 24 hours, they'll call Child Services,"

"Wow... so someone just abandoned this little guy?" Shawn K. asked, stunned.

"Who would leave behind such an adorable little muffin?" Zippy asked, cradling the baby in her arms.

"Zippy, could you not talk like that? You're scaring me," Shaggy said, not used to seeing Zippy so... sentimental.

"So, what should we do?" Flip asked.

Pugsy looked at the clock, seeing it was already after 7:30. "Well, first of all, you should head to school." he replied, then rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at the baby. "Though, how Shag and I are supposed to head to work is a problem..."

"I could watch the baby for you," Zippy volunteered.

"YOU?" All the guys questioned.

"Why not? I used to babysit all the time before I moved here. It's my day off anyhow," Zippy then looked back at the baby, nuzzling it's cheek. "Plus, I don't think I could resist spending a day with this cute little squink! No- no, I couldn't! No I couldn't!"

"I can help out, too, just to make sure Zippy doesn't do anything crazy- I mean, doesn't do too much work," Shawn added, as he and Zippy walked over to his own apartment.

"Alright, well... we'll be home at noon. Call if anything happens," Shaggy replied.

"We're going to have so much fun!" Zippy cooed to the baby. "We'll go shopping for some tiny little outfits for you, and buy you some squeaky toys, and we'll introduce you to classic cartoons from the 90's..."

Shawn K. shut the door, and the guys all sighed, looking at each other as they got their things together. "You think they'll be okay?" Flip asked.

"Like, it's just one little baby, Flip." Shaggy told him as they all walked out and down the hall. "How much work could it be?"

d~b

_12:00, Noon._

Shaggy and Pugsy walked down the hall to Shawn's apartment after work, knocking on the door before entering. "Hey, Shawn, we're here to pick up the _ba-yay-yay_... by." Pugsy gasped, looking around the apartment.

Tiny infant toys were scattered around, there were a few food stains on the carpet, a few clothes strung here and there, and _Bubble Guppies _was loudly playing on television. "Zoinks! What the heck happened here?!"

Ted walked in, carrying the baby. "Oh, hey guys! Shawn was wondering when you'd get back," he said.

"Ted, what happened? Your place looks like it got hit by a tornado!"

"Oh, just a little mess. Kiddo here kind of started crawling all over the place- Zippy had a heck of a time keeping up with him! Tried to tire him out with a little piggy-back..." he looked over at a chair, where Zippy was passed out, sleeping. "Though, I think it backfired,"

"Where's Shawn?" Pugsy asked.

"He's still in the bathroom. When it came time to change the squirt's diaper, he got a little green in the face. I managed to take care of it, though- not the first time I had to take care of one of these little squeakers, and I doubt it'll be the last!"

Shaggy took the baby, while Pugsy gathered up a few things their friends had bought for the infant. "Well, thanks... and um, tell Shawn and Zippy we'll make it up to them," he said, looking around the ransacked apartment once more.

"Will do!" Ted rubbed the baby's head. "See you around, little guy!"

Pugsy and Shaggy walked back to their apartment, moving the coffee-table and couch back a ways so they could spread out a blanket for the baby to crawl on, setting him down with his toys. "Just one little baby- how much work could it be?" Pugsy quipped, reciting Shaggy's line from earlier.

"Alright, so these things tend to get into a little mischief." Shaggy scoffed. "But we shouldn't have any troubles for the rest of the-"

"Waaaaaaaah!" The baby began to cry, making the two men jolt.

"Zoinks! What did I say?!"

The baby continued to cry, and the duo tried to get him to calm down. "See the toy? Want the toy?" Pugsy said playfully, wiggling a toy in front of the baby, but it didn't seem to work.

"Does he need changed again?"

"I don't know, check!"

"What?! No way, man! You check!"

"Waaaaaaah!" The baby continued to cry.

"Hold it! I think I know the problem!" Pugsy said, then picked up the baby, who seemed to quiet down long enough for the stocky young man to listen to his stomach, hearing it gurgle. "He must be hungrified. Here, you hold him, I'll make a bottle," he handed the baby over to Shaggy.

The lanky young man rocked the infant in his arms to try and keep him calm, as well as himself. "Like, that makes sense... I'd cry too, if I missed a meal," he chuckled, sitting back down on the floor with the infant.

Pugsy came over with the bottle, testing it on his arm to make sure it wasn't too hot, then handing it to the baby, who began to guzzle it down. "There, that should calm him down for a while,"

Shaggy looked up at him. "Since when were you good with kids?"

"Since I had to help Fangs babysit his cousin... only, I'm hoping I don't end up as some baby-wolf's chew-toy,"

Once the bottle was empty, the baby let out a yawn, lying down on the floor, falling to sleep. Shaggy covered it with a blanket. "I just wonder who could have abandoned him. Poor thing,"

"I'll say. I'm going to head back over to Shawn's, see how he's pulling through,"

Shaggy gave him a look. "What?! You're leaving me with the baby?!"

"Relax, he's asleep! And I'll be back in a few minutes anyhow. Just keep an eye on him," Pugsy then walked out.

Shaggy scoffed, then began to pace. "Figures- every time we have a kid around, I'm stuck watching them! ...Ah, well, it's only until the police get a lead. Things aren't so bad- it's quiet, Zippy's asleep, Pugsy will be back soon, and the baby's missing."

He sat down on the couch, relaxing a bit...

Shooting back on his feet when he realized that last part. "THE BABY'S MISSING?!" he looked on the floor, seeing that the infant had vanished! "Zoinks! Where'd he go?!" he looked around the room, searching behind the couch, under pillows and blankets, searching under the beds, the refridgerator... even checking the bathroom, looking in the toilet! "Here, baby baby! Come out come out wherever you are! You don't want Pugs to hurt Uncle Shaggy, do you?!"

He heard giggling outside just then, and his hair stuck up.

"THE BALCONY!" He ran out, looking over the edge, leaning far over as he searched. "Oh man... where is he?!"

The baby, who was sitting under a chair on the balcony, crawled over behind the lanky young man. "Ga?" it cooed.

"ZOINKS!" Shaggy gave a jolt, falling over the balcony, though hung on with two hands. He gasped, looking over at the infant. "Don't DO that! Sheesh!"

The baby only giggled.

"Oh, you think that's funny?! Well, just wait until I put you in time-out, then we'll see who's laughing!"

The baby turned, crawling back inside, playing with its toys.

"Oh, c'mon... don't leave me hanging!" Shaggy then looked down by mistake, a rush of vertigo coming upon him, and he gulped, trying to swing his legs over.

The baby then crawled out of sight, making him panic.

"Hey! Kid! Come back here! Oh man..." Shaggy groaned, then sighed. "I deserve this... this is all because I accidentally flushed my goldfish, Kevin, down the toilet! He went to Heaven, and now my life is bad!" he looked up at the sky. "Are you happy now, Kevin?! We're _even _now!" he bowed his head, whimpering a bit.

"Shaggy?" came a voice.

Shaggy looked back up at the sky. "KEVIN?"

Pugsy stepped out, being the one who spoke (not the late-goldfish). "What the jumping ignorpotomases are you doing?!"

Shaggy whimpered again. "Like, it's crazy man! One minute, I'm just sitting down, then the baby's missing! I looked all over, came out here, fell over the edge, and he crawled back inside... and now he's gone again!"

Pugsy arched an eyebrow, helping him back up. "What are you talkifying about? He's right there!" he pointed over at the chair in the living room, where the infant sat, playing with a rattle. "Geez, Shaggy, I think you panic too much."

"But he... then I... and... and..." Shaggy sighed heavily, rubbing his face. "I'm going to go buy some aspirin..." he then walked out.

Pugsy shrugged, picking up the baby and walking out. By this time, Zippy was awake from her own nap. "Oh, hey Pugs... when did you guys get home?" she yawned, stretching.

"About half an hour ago. I heard the kid here wore you out," Pugsy said to her, then held up the baby. "If I knew that's all it took to quiet you down, I'd have adopted a baby years ago!"

"Very funny, Pugs." They walked towards the elevator.

Unbeknownst to them, Robotnik, Horace, and Scratch had been around the corner, overhearing them! "So, Pugsy's got a baby now, huh?" the villain said with a smirk.

Horace let out a gasp. "I didn't even know he was married! ...You think it's too late to buy them a gift?" he asked.

"The baby's not his, stupid! Didn't you hear him? It's adopted!" Scratch snapped.

"Oh... but, why would he want to adopt a baby? He's already got Flip living with him!"

"Who cares where the baby came from!" Robotnik snapped. "All it means is that I've got reason to kick that oaf and his comrades out! Having a baby around means an increase in their rent... and if they're harboring it, I can use it as grounds to terminate their stay here!"

"Gosh, Robotnik, isn't that a little harsh? Kicking them out when they have a baby to take care of..."

"Yeah, and I never seen or heard them with the baby before- maybe he just got it today, and is planning on telling everyone," Scratch added.

"But we don't know that! He could have had that baby since the day he moved in for all we know- we just need to catch him and his friends in the act of hiding an infant, and soon those menaces shall be out of my hair!" With that, Robotnik stormed off to scheme.

Horace blinked. "But... you don't _have_ hair..." he questioned.

d~b

"How about Peter?"

"No."

"Ezra?"

"No."

"Joshua?"

"No..."

"Russel Brand?"

"No!"

Zippy shook her head. She and Pugsy were sitting outside, watching the baby crawl around on a blanket in the grass. "C'mon, Pugs, we can't just keep calling him 'the baby' or 'kid' or any cute, bubbly nicknames. We should give him a name, that way we have something to call him,"

"We can't name him, ZIP. He already has a name- if we gave him a new one, it'll just discombooferate him," Pugsy noticed the baby trying to crawl off-screen, and picked him up and set him back on the blanket.

"But we don't know what it is! ...For all we know, whoever abandoned him never gave him one,"

"Yeah, but we're not going to keep him- we're just watching him until the police either find out who he belongs to, or send a service-agent to take him to a new home."

Zippy sighed, rubbing the infant's head. "I hate it when that happens..."

A woman walked by just then. "Aw, what a cute baby!" she said, sweetly. "What's his name?"

Zippy shrugged. "We're still debating on it,"

"There's nothing to debate..." Pugsy hissed.

"Oh, I understand. My husband I had trouble coming up with baby names ourselves." the woman replied, and the baby cooed, smiling at her. "Such a sweetheart! You two must be so proud,"

Zippy paled and Pugsy's eye twitched. "Whoa! Um, actually, he's not OUR baby- we're just watching him for the day!"

"Oh, sorry about that! I assumed a baby this nice belonged to a nice couple like you,"

Zippy paled further. "We're not a couple, either..." she told the woman.

"Oh, my mistake! Well, I'd better hurry along, before I make a bigger fool of myself!" With that, the woman walked away, giving them a wave.

Zippy began to walk off. "Where are you going?" Pugsy asked her.

"To repress some serious nightmares I had just now..."

d~b

Flip came home from school later that day. As he walked through the lobby, Robotnik strolled up to him. "Ah, hello there, Flip," he said, casually. "Might I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what is it?" Flip replied.

"Is there, ah, _something_ in your apartment you'd like to discuss?"

Flip paused, thinking. "Actually, there is..."

Robotnik clicked on a tape-recorder. "Yes?"

"The bathroom sink keeps backing up. You think you could have one of your handymen come up and check it out? ...We'd do it ourselves, but last time we tried to fix something, Shaggy lost his eyebrows."

Robotnik blinked. "Um, is there anything ELSE?"

"Well, we need to replace the carpeting. Shaggy says that cherry-syrup stain in the middle of the floor won't come out, and it's giving him nightmares."

Robotnik began to grow impatient. "What ELSE is in your apartment?!"

Flip thought. "Hmm... that's all I can think of. Thanks for your concern, but I've got a lot of homework to do. See ya!" he then headed over to the elevator.

Robotnik turned off the tape-recorder. "Drat..."

Flip held open the elevator doors. "Oh, and we're taking care of a baby, too!" he then let them close.

Robotnik flinched and turned, but Flip was already halfway up to the next floor. "Double-drat!" he shouted, smashing the tape-recorder on the floor. "Grrrr... that's it! Time for a more sneakier approach!"

d~b

Flip walked into the apartment, seeing Shaggy lying on the couch, the baby sitting on his stomach, both of them watching television. "Hey, Shag. Where's Pugs?" the twelve-year-old asked.

"He had to take a shower, so I'm left in charge of pipsqueak here," Shaggy replied, then gave the baby a suspicious look. "And this time, I'm not taking my eyes off you for a minute, you little Houdini!"

Flip arched an eyebrow. "Having a bit of trouble with the baby?"

"Like, don't ask."

Flip shrugged, putting his book-bag down and picking up the baby, sitting him on the blanket on the floor. "I can watch him for a minute, if you want,"

"I don't know, Flip... he's quite a handful- he even wore out Zippy and Shawn!"

"I think I could keep up with him," Flip turned to the baby, who was playing with his toys. "What do you think, squirt?"

*Thonk!*

The baby threw a toy block at his head, giggling. "Ow! ...Okay, someone's got a pitching-arm. How about playing with your rattle?" Flip shook the rattle, handing it to the baby. "Here you go-"

*Whack!*

The baby hit him with the rattle, still giggling. Flip rubbed his head, then grabbed a squeaky-hammer. "Here, that's not for hitting, this is." he hit a small plastic block with it. "See? Hit the block, not my head,"

*Squeak!*

The baby hit him with the hammer, now laughing. Shaggy was trying to stifle a laugh himself.

"I'm beginning to see the pattern here..." Flip deadpanned, then gave the baby a soft, plush lamb. "Here, play with this." he then stood up, walking across the room...

*Whump!*

The stuffed lamb hit him in the back of the head, and the baby laughed. "I think he likes playing with you, Flip!" Shaggy chuckled.

Flip picked up his bookbag. "Ha ha. Why don't YOU play with him a while? I have to write a three-page report on Sherlock Holmes for school, and I have a lot of research to do," with that, he went into his room.

Shaggy shrugged. "Alright, I'll let you know when it's time for dinner," he looked over. "Looks like it's just you and me again, squir- what the...?!"

When Shaggy looked over, the baby was once again missing!

"Zoinks! Not again!" He then proceeded to look around the room... noticing the front door was open! He quickly ran out to the hall, where he saw the baby crawling into an open elevator, the doors closing. "Yikes! Hold that elevator!"

Too late. With a *ding* the elevator started going down. Shaggy raced like a maniac down the stairs.

On the ground floor, the baby crawled out to the lobby... where Robotnik was at his desk, a donut sitting on a plate next to him, as he scribbled down ideas for his scheme. "Security cameras? ...No, already have them installed in the hallways, and it's bad enough Ted keeps making goofy faces in them! ...Tape recorder is still busted... I don't have them on Fakebook, so I can't virtually stalk them..."

While he was pondering loudly to himself, the baby reached and grabbed his donut, munching on it. It looked out the glass doors, where a large bus was, and a man and his dalmatian dog were boarding. The baby excitedly crawled over, managing to slip through the door when Jasper opened it, reading a magazine as he walked.

Shaggy managed to get down the stairs, just in time to see the baby crawling onto the bus! "Gah! Stop!" he cried, racing out the door.

Jasper arched an eyebrow, but shrugged and turned to Robotnik. "How go the plans, boss?" he asked.

Robotnik sighed. "Slow. ...and for some reason, I feel as if an opportunity escaped me!" he replied, then reached for his plate, his hand grasping nothing. "And if I don't come up with one soon, I'll surely... wait, what happened to my donut?"

d~b

Shaggy raced after the bus as it rolled down the street, pushing by people, leaping over benches, and swerving around poles in order to keep up. "Wait! Stop the bus! Unattented child on board!" he called, but the bus was starting to get farther and farther away.

A kid was riding by on his bike, and Shaggy stopped him. "Hey! What're you-" the kid was saying.

"Sorry man, I gotta borrow this real quick!" Shaggy hopped onto the bicycle and sped away like crazy, ignoring the angry shouts from the kid. Pedaling as fast as he could go, he raced after the bus, as it went down another street.

Shaggy paused, seeing the traffic was in a rush, and the bus pulled into a turning lane. Feeling he would have to cut it off, he quickly took a short-cut...

...through a skate-park.

Shaggy yelped as he flew over ramps, dodging skaters who shook their fists and yelled curses at him; he cried out when he ended up in a large tunnel that caused him to shoot out into the air; and he screamed as he landed on a half-pipe, balancing the bike on it and riding down the slant of it at top speed-

*Crash!*

Going through a fence!

Meanwhile, the bus pulled up at one of its routine stops, the doors opening as passengers filed out... unaware of the baby crawling amongst them, going down the sidewalk!

Before the bus-driver could pull away, Shaggy swerved the bike, crashing into the doors! Startled, the bus-driver opened them. "What the heck are you doing?!" he demanded.

"No time to explain, sir... did a baby get on this bus?!" Shaggy asked, looking around the bus, but saw no sign of the baby.

"I didn't pick up any passenger with a baby."

"He was _by himself_!"

The bus driver only gave Shaggy a look, and closed his doors, driving away and leaving the lanky coward in a panic. "Oh man, where could he have gone?!" Shaggy looked around, looking up the sidewalk, then in the other direction seeing an infant crawling along, then looked across the street...

Doing a double-take when he looked back over, seeing the baby was heading for the most cliche place a baby could crawl into: a construction site.

"Zoinks! Not the Construction Site Cliche!" Shaggy ran forth after the baby. He looked around... and gasped.

To his horror, the baby had crawled onto a beam that was being lifted to the top of a building under construction!

Now, if you guys know your cartoon history, you pretty much know what will happen next. Shaggy knew it too... but couldn't risk letting an infant wander around heavy machinery in a hazardous location and get hurt.

Taking a deep breath, Shaggy ran in. "This kid owes me BIG time!"

He ran up to an elevator, taking it to the floor where he saw the beam was heading. He then raced along the other beams towards it, seeing the baby waving to him. He reached the edge, sticking his hand out, trying to grab the baby...

(I wonder if cartoons ever pondered to just go up to one of the workers and tell them, "Hey, there's a kid up there! Stop everything and get him down!" rather than risk breaking their necks trying to retrieve it themselves... but then again, if they did, we wouldn't have a good dose of humor, would we?)

"C'mon, little buddy, lets get you home before Uncle Shaggy ends up in a cement-mixer!" Shaggy begged.

The baby stood, wobbling a bit, about to fall off the beam!

"Whoa!" Shaggy lunged, grabbing the baby before he could fall, then set him down on the constructed floor. "There, safe and sound."

...As he looked down, however, he noticed that- while grabbing the baby- he had stepped off the beam, and was just standing in mid-air!

"Oh no."

*zip!* he shot down.

"AAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"

*Crunch!* He landed rear-first in a barrel... full of nails.

Pain contorted on his face, and he shot up into the air! "YEEEEEEOOOOOOWWWWWW!"

*Bonk!* His head hit a beam. He fell and landed on a levitated beam, dazed and walking along it...

Dropping off onto another beam connected to the building, stepping over the edge, and landing on top of the elevator, face-down.

As the elevator went down, the baby crawled over on top of it as it passed, sitting by Shaggy. When it stopped, the baby scooted off once again. Shaggy groaned, lifiting his head, seeing the baby was heading across another constructed floor, bumping into a stack of paint-cans that were beginning to wobble.

Shaggy yelped and dove into action, shoving the baby out of the way-

*SPLOT!*

The baby giggled. A construction worker came by just then. "Hey! What do you think this is, a daycare center? This ain't a place for kids, bub!" he told Shaggy, handing the baby to him. "You'd better be more careful!"

"Thank. You." Shaggy muttered.

d~b

Pugsy stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of jeans, and rubbing his hair with a towel. "Hey, Flip, where's Shag?" he asked, seeing the twelve-year-old at the computer, doing research for his report, but didn't see any sign of Shaggy or the baby.

"I don't know, maybe he took the baby for a walk," Flip replied.

The door opened and Shaggy entered- covered in paint, bruises, and bumps, yet the baby in his arms didn't have a scratch on him.

Pugsy's eyes widened. "Shag! What the leaping ignorpotomases happened to ya?!"

Shaggy only scowled, handing the baby to Pugsy. "Do me a favor- stop taking long showers!" he sneered, then walked into the bathroom to take a shower himself.

Flip and Pugsy only exchanged looks, shrugging in confusion.

d~b

Robotnik paced furiously. "There has GOT to be a way to catch those hooligans in the act!" he muttered to himself. "If I'm going to be rid of those numbskulls, I must come up with a plan to expose their secret!"

Uncle Ted happened to be coming along just then. "Hey, Robotnik, what's with the pacing?" he asked.

"I'm trying to figure something out, beat it!"

"Oh, geez, I was just asking! No need to get hot-headed- you're not the only one with troubles, y'know. Shag, Pugs, and Flip have a baby to take care of,"

"I don't care about-" Robotnik froze, then turned to Ted. "Wait, you know about that baby?!"

"Oh yeah. Cute little feller, reminds me of my nephews when they were that small. The guys are doing great handling him, too- only heard the kid cry once today! They must be keeping him happy,"

"Really?" Robotnik couldn't help but smirk. "So, they're keeping a baby with them, huh?"

"Yeah, just for a short time though. Shawn said something about them calling the police about finding the kid a new home or something like that."

"I see... Well, Ted, nice talking to you!" Robotnik then shoved Uncle Ted towards the elevator. "I have some things to do now, goodbye!"

"Okay, see-" Before Uncle Ted could finish, the doors shut on his face.

"So, they plan on giving that baby away, hmm? That troublesome trio must've figured I'd be on to them sooner or later, and decided to get rid of the child for their own sake!" he paused, smiling. "If I didn't hate them so much, I'd be tempted to let them stay!"

*0*0*0*0*0*

Taking care of the baby during the day was one thing.

Night time was a whole different story.

The guys managed to get the baby to sleep around 8:30 that night, allowing the infant to sleep in a playpen (which Shaggy insisted they buy, 'for some reason') in the living room, so that if the baby started crying, they could take turns checking on it.

"You think he'll be alright?" Flip asked in a whisper.

"Sure, he's had a busy day. He might sleep the whole night," Pugsy guessed.

"Lets hope," Shaggy said with a yawn, as they each headed for their own rooms.

_12:05 AM_

The baby started crying. Pugsy was the first to hear it, groggily sitting up and looking across the hall, seeing Shaggy was asleep still. Sighing, he stood up and walked over to the baby, finding it was hungry. Warming up a bottle, he fed it, rocking it to sleep. By the time he was done, it was almost 1:30, and- too tired to head back to his room- fell asleep in the chair.

_3:03 AM_

The baby awoke, having a giggling fit. Flip awoke, tiredly walking out (seeing Pugsy still asleep in the chair) and picked it up, trying to rock it back to sleep since it was his turn... though the baby kept hitting him with his teddy-bear, which aggravated the pre-teen as he was trying to sing it a lullaby. "Rock a bye (ow) baby in the (ouch) tree top, when the bough (oof) breaks the cradle will (oh)..." he mumbled. After twenty minutes of hitting Flip with a stuffed animal, the baby was worn out, falling back to sleep. Flip put him in the playpen, though couldn't make it back to his room and instead fell asleep on the couch.

_4:35 AM (this kid doesn't sleep much, does he?)_

The baby awoke, crying once more. Pugsy and Flip both woke up, seeing the infant needed changed. After a quick game of 'rock-paper-scissors', Pugsy was left to the task, though he had Flip stand by to hand him the items needed and discard the dirty diaper.

Once they put the baby back to sleep for the third time that night, they went into Shaggy's room, wondering how the lanky young man never heard the baby cry...

Finding he was sleeping with his headphones on!

*WHUMP!*

Pugsy had flipped the mattress over, making it- and Shaggy- fall on the floor. "Hey! What the...?! What gives, guys?! Are you trying to wake the baby?!" he demanded.

*Whack!*

Flip chucked a pillow at his face, and he and Pugs left the room, heading back to their beds.

*0*0*0*0*0*

It was 6:00 AM when Pugsy had to get up for work. He went over to the coffee pot, ready to fill it with water... but, as tired as he was feeling, he dumped out the water and poured in a can of Red Bull to mix with it instead.

There was a cooing sound, and he looked over, seeing the baby was awake again. "Well, look who's up," he said to the infant. "Guess the sandman skipped out on you last night, kid. Surprising you have enough energy to wake up this early!"

The baby only giggled, holding up his arms, wanting to be held.

Pugsy rolled his eyes, but picked up the child, holding it in one arm while pouring himself a cup of Red Bull/Coffee in the other. "You sure are a lot to handle, do you know that? Tiring everyone out, making a mess, driving Shaggy insane... you just like picking on everyone, don't you?"

The baby giggled, then snuggled against him.

Pugsy gave a soft smile. "Okay... maybe not _everyone_," he cleared his throat, setting the coffee down and holding the baby up with both hands. "But don't think that sucking up to me will get me to spoil you. If you think you can get away with everything, think again! You ain't the first kid I had to take care of, and I happen to be a disciplinarian!"

The baby only cooed, then hugged him, nuzzling his shoulder.

Pugsy sighed, patting it on the back while smiling. "Ah, you got me... But I'll only take it easy on you because you're a guest,"

"How come you never talked like that to me?"

Pugsy looked over, seeing Flip was awake and watching him! "Well, for one thing, you live here- second, you're 11 years past-due. ...What are you doing up this early, anyhow?"

"I heard the baby giggling... I guess I just got used to waking up every time he made a noise," Flip yawned. "Besides, it's Saturday- I can sleep later, after I catch the morning cartoons,"

Pugsy rolled his eyes. "Right. Since you're up, why don't you take squirt here into the living room with ya, while I get breakfast ready?"

"Okay... but if he hits me with one more toy, I'm outta here," Flip took the baby to the living room, turning on some cartoons for both of them to watch.

Pugsy then took a drink of his energy-coffee... and his hair stuck out and his pupils shrunk, and he coughed a bit. "Too... strong..." he rasped, getting a drink of water.

Shaggy walked in just then, drowsily. "Man... how can anyone sleep with a baby around?" he groaned.

Pugsy gave him the glare of death. "Well it's not easy living with you, but I manage,"

Shaggy only sneered, pouring some coffee while Pugsy made the baby a bottle. Shaggy took a long gulp...

Pugsy handed the bottle to the pre-teen. "Here, Flip, give this to the baby,"

"Here you go," Flip said to the baby... who squirted him with the milk first, laughing. "Okay, this is getting old."

"Don't worry, hopefully we'll get word soon. I'll go fix some... breakfast?" he had turned, arching an eyebrow. Flip followed his gaze, a bit shocked as well.

Shaggy, full of energy, was moving about the kitchen at top-speed, making pancakes, waffles, bacon, toast, eggs, and pouring glasses of milk and orange juice, and even rapidly cleaning up the dishes... all in ten seconds flat! And he was still filled with energy! "Breakfast!" he exclaimed, then ran across the room. "You guys enjoy, I'm going to take a run real quick!"

Zippy stepped in through the balcony just then, carrying a parachute. "Hey guys, how's-" she began.

"Hi-ZIP-bye-ZIP!" Shaggy said quickly, then grabbed her parachute and shot over the balcony!

"HEY!" Zippy ran/dived after him.

Pugsy and Flip blinked. "Um... no coffee for me, thanks." Flip said.

There was a knock at the door just then. Before they could go over and open it, Shaggy burst through! "Police are here!" he said, hyperactively, bolting around the room.

Pugsy walked over to the door. "Um, can I help you, officers?" he asked, seeing it was Sam and Max (Freelance Police).

"Yeah, we've been on the trail of a real nasty kidnapper, The Rake." Sam said, holding up a picture of the Creepypasta. "Apparently he tried stealing the commisioner's cousin's daughter's son, and was last seen with it in this apartment building."

"Here's a photo of the little cretin," Max said, holding up a picture, which happened to be of the baby!

"He's right in here! Someone left him on our doorstep yesterday morning!" Pugsy said.

"Ha! Well, what do you know, Max? We were 10 floors off!" Sam exclaimed. "We've been trying to find this little guy, ever since we got finished beating the ever-living tar out of that creep!"

"What took you guys so long to search?" Flip asked.

_~Quick Flashback!~_

We see The Rake slithering down the hall, gasping. "Those psychos just don't give up- I was sure those saw-blades would have ended them!" he said to himself, then dropped the baby in front of a door and knocked. "I'll just drop the kid off here and come back later!" he then shot down the hall, taking the elevator.

When he got out, he was slithering past the stairs-

"FREELANCE POLICE!" Came Max's shout, and he and Sam dived from the top of the stairs and tackled The Rake, leading to a very graphic brawl.

By the time the dust cleared, The Rake was in need of a blood transfusion. "Oops, I guess we went too far with 'police brutality' again," Sam said.

"How far? Did we break our record from last time?" Max asked.

"Must... get... away...!" The Rake groaned, shooting out the door.

"There he goes!"

They ran out, hopping in their Desoto. "Looks like he's heading for that club run by that one famous, iconic mouse!" Sam guessed.

Max gasped. "They made more Chuck E. Cheese's?! When will the madness end?!"

"Just put on your seat-belt, you yut." With that, the Desoto shot down the road.

_~End Flashback~_

"...By the time we caught up to him, it turns out a fan-club beat the rest of the snot out of him." Sam finished. "When he reformed, well... we just beat him up all over again. The guy was practically crying by the time we sent him into another dimension."

"He made for an excellent chew-toy, too." Max added.

The others just blinked. "O-kay..." Pugsy said. "Well, we contacted the police yesterday about the kid, and they've been trying to find a lead on his parents."

"We'll contact them for you, no need to go through any trouble," Sam said.

"Yeah, that's OUR job!" Max exclaimed.

*Thud!*

Everyone looked over, seeing that Shaggy's caffiene-high wore off, and he crashed on the floor.

d~b

By a quarter to 7 AM, a couple policemen and the child's parents showed up. "Oh, thank you so much for taking care of him!" the mother said, tears in her eyes as she hugged her baby. "I thought we'd never see him again!"

"Ah, it was no trouble," Flip replied.

"Yeah, no trouble at all," Shaggy repeated, while holding an ice-pack on his head.

"Doesn't it all give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside?" Sam asked Max.

"I thought it was that old sandwich I found crawling in the back of the fridge!" Max replied.

The parents thanked them again, and took their child home. "Good thing you share the same floor as the Freelance Police, otherwise we'd never get a lead," one of the cops said.

"Hey, we were just happy to help," Sam said.

"...especially when it involved the bashing of a Creepypasta!" Max exclaimed, and the two Freelance officers left.

Robotnik came up just then. "A-ha! I'm so glad you're here, officers! I need some witnesses- these men are harboring an infant, and as their rent agreement states, they $200 dollars for each resident-" he began to state.

"Yeah, we know. They've been taking care of a missing child for the last 24 hours, before we finally managed to find its parents." The second officer said, then tipped his hat to the trio. "Thanks again, boys."

"...missing child?" Robotnik repeated.

"What were you going on about?" Pugsy demanded.

"N-Nothing, um... if you'll excuse me, I have a tape-recorder to replace," and the villain walked off, mentally kicking himself for the set-back.

"So, what now?" Shaggy asked.

"Now, I'm heading to work. ...Oh, and Shag, try not to hurt yourself keeping an eye on Flip," Pugsy quipped, walking out.

"Ha ha, very funny!" Shaggy turned to Flip. "But, um, seriously... stay in sight, and avoid construction areas."

Flip rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Shag." he replied, sarcastically.

d~b

_Later, that evening..._

An interdimensional portal opened above the balcony, and The Rake dropped in, smirking as he looked through the window, seeing Flip sitting at the computer. "This should be easy..." he said to himself... until a shadow fell over him. He looked, seeing the masked figure standing there, glaring at him. "Ooh, so scary... Who are you?"

The figure reached into his pocket, and held up a badge. "Freelance Police," he said.

The Rake's eyes widened, he let out a girly shriek, and he shot down the balcony, running down the street, still screaming.

The masked figure hopped over to the next balcony, going inside, just as Shaggy stepped out. "Like, weird, I thought I heard something..." he said, then walked back into the apartment. "Man, it sure is quiet without the baby around, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of going to miss having him around," Flip said, then rubbed his head. "Except for play-time, heh heh,"

"I'm just glad we can get back to our own lives- keeping an eye on YOU two is enough work," Pugsy stated.

Shaggy rolled his eyes. "You're just full of jokes tonight, aren't you man?" he scoffed, then headed out the door. "Well, I'm off to my shift at the radio-station. See ya!"

"Bye, Shag!" Flip replied, then resumed typing at the computer.

"How's the report going?" Pugsy asked, sitting down on the couch, next to him.

"I'm almost done, just another page-and-a-half to go."

"Why are you doing homework during the weekend, anyway? Why didn't you get it done yesterday, or wait until tomorrow?"

"Well, because I was busy helping you guys out with the baby yesterday, and the last time I procrastinated, I ended up with twice as much work as before. ...plus, it's a long report."

Pugsy started flicking through the TV channels. "Well, don't stay up too late. You've been acting drowsy enough as it is,"

Flip laughed. "Ha! It's Saturday night, Pugs! Kids like me never fall asleep easily! I can stay up all night, and then just crash Sunday afternoon!"

"Yeah right, you'll dose off here soon enough,"

"We'll see!" Flip went back to his report.

_2 Hours Later..._

"Done..." Flip yawned, saving his report and turning off the computer, then dosed off, snoring softly.

Pugsy walked in from the kitchen area, shaking his head with a smirk. He then picked up Flip and carried him to bed, tucking him in. "Told ya so," he whispered, before walking out.

d~b

**A/N: I figured I'd add in a 'cute' scene at the end there. I also borrowed content from "Baby's Day Out" and the **_**Drake and Josh **_**episode, "Two Idiots and a Baby".**

**Also, I included a reference from Wherever Girl and Fanatic97's story, "Security Authors: Return of the Mayhem", on the chapter 'Creepypasta Panic'. **

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


	10. Ep 8: The Return of the Go Cart!

**Woo! Got a new Word Document uploaded- with spell-check and everything! Time to celebrate… with a new episode! :D**

**d~b**

_*Episode 8*_

_Return of the Go-Cart!_

_(Or, Deja-Vu Danger)_

It was a-

"AAAUUUGH! OH, LORD IN HEAVEN, WHY?!"

…never mind.

Pugsy walked into the living room, upon hearing Shaggy's shouting, seeing the lanky young man was startled, pale, and weeping openly. "Why me? Just… why?! WHY?!" the coward was sobbing.

"Uh… what's with the self-pity, Shag?" Pugsy asked. "Someone eat the last piece of pizza before you could?"

"No… worse! I just got a call from my old friend, Vincent Van Ghoul. He's going to a warlock convention and will be gone the whole week… and he's having Flim-Flam come stay with us until he gets back!"

Pugsy arched an eyebrow. "Why doesn't Flim-Flam go with him?"

Shaggy sighed. "Because the LAST time he went with, he accidentally mistook an evil witch for a girlfriend of Vincent's, and got the warlock placed under a spell… it's a long story."

"Okay, why can't he just stay home then? He's 15, he's old enough to handle himself,"

Shaggy gave Pugsy a deadpanned look. "You never met Flim-Flam, have you?"

Pugsy rolled his eyes. "Alright, I take it he's a handful. But you guys are good friends! There shouldn't be much trouble if he comes to stay for a week,"

Shaggy sighed. "That's not the problem… You see, Flim-Flam is turning 16 tomorrow, and is going to be taking his driver's exam Saturday!"

Pugsy's eyes widened a bit. "Flim-Flam's going to be on the road? Huh, boy, looks like I'll be playing the Pedestrian card for a while…"

"But that's not the worst part!"

"What's the worst part?"

Shaggy winced, then broke down once more. "_I have to teach him to drive!"_

d~b

Shaggy wasn't the only one who had a problem to face that week.

Flip Chan was walking home from school, passing an auto-garage.

*Clang!*

"Ow! Darn it!" came a curse, and he looked in, seeing Derek was working on what appeared to be a small car.

"Geez, Generic, don't you know how to handle tools?" said Phillip, a boy who was helping him.

"Shut up, Phil! Just hand me that piston!"

"Whoa, what are you building?" Flip asked, curiously.

"A go-cart, you dipstick! Now beat it!" Derek sneered.

At the mention of the word 'go-cart' Flip flinched a little, suddenly thinking back to a time in Season 1… but shook his head to repress such a memory. "Uh, neat. I built a go-cart once,"

"Really? You still got it?" Phillip asked.

"No… um, I decided to get rid of it,"

"Ha! Probably didn't make it right," Derek scoffed. "I doubt it was very fast,"

"Hey, nothing was wrong with it, and it was pretty fast!"

"Oh yeah? I doubt it! I doubt you ever built one!"

"Of course I did! And it could outrace your car any day!"

"Is that so? How about a bet then- Saturday, we race our go-carts. First one down the hill on Mulberry Lane is the winner, and the loser has to fork over 25 bucks!"

"You're on!"

"C'mon, Derek, you're going to need to finish the car if you want to win- don't expect me to do all the work!" Phillip scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Derek sneered, then turned to Flip. "Saturday. Noon. Be there,"

"I will." Flip said with a scowl, then walked off down the block…

Freezing dead in his tracks when he thought about the bet he just made!

"What have I done?"

d~b

"Well, I'm off to pick up Flim-Flam," Shaggy said with a heavy sigh, ten minutes later. "Have the paramedics standing by."

"Sure thing, Shag." Pugsy replied, sarcastically. "Seriously, stop getting worked up about it. Just take him out to a dirt road, show him the basics, and testify his potension,"

"Yeah, but first I'll be testing my car's breaks, air-bag, and seat-belts."

"Ah, relax. It won't be so bad,"

Shaggy gave him a look. "Yeah? Like, why don't you come along and help?"

"Because I'm a busy guy," Pugsy picked up a newspaper, lying back on the couch and reading.

Shaggy rolled his eyes. "Sure you are. I'm outta here- see ya at the morgue," with that, he walked out.

Pugsy made himself comfortable. It was a quiet week so far- Zippy was helping out at an animal shelter, Shawn and Uncle Ted went bowling, Robotnik was down in the basement working on the water-heater (or, so he said- he seemed to be working on the water heater a lot, apparently), and Flip planned on hanging out with Holly that afternoon, meaning he had the apartment to himself.

"Finally, some peace and quiet," he said to himself.

*BAM!* The door flung open, and Flip ran in.

"PUGS! You gotta help me!" The pre-teen shouted.

"Uaah!" Pugsy yelped, jolting so much he rolled off the couch. "Flip! What the jumping ignorpotamses…?! What's the problem?"

Flip took in a deep breath. "I was walking home from school and I saw Derek and Phillip working on a car and I told them how I had built one before but Derek didn't believe me and told me I would suck at it but I told him he was wrong and that I could outrace him and we made a bet and now I really need your help because I don't have 25 dollars to fork over if I lose!" he then stopped, panting as he was out of breath.

Pugsy blinked. "Flip, how many times have I told you never make bets you can't hold up?"

"Since that time Shaggy beat you in a game of Black Jack, and you had to do all the cooking for a week. …But I totally forgot, because he kept saying I couldn't do it!"

Pugsy sighed. "Alright, alright… What exactly do you need help with, that's SO important it would drive you to make a bet?"

"I need help building a go-cart,"

Pugsy developed a stunned expression, his pupils shrunk, and he stared off into space.

"Um… Pugs? Did you hear me?"

Pugsy said nothing, still having a shocked expression…

(_War-like flashbacks appeared in a faded-over fashion, of the last time the term 'go-cart' was brought up- all the times involving him getting run over, swerving around traffic, going over cliffs, and screaming bloody murder_.)

"Pugsy!" Flip exclaimed, shaking him.

Pugsy blinked several times, snapping out of his reverie. "Huh?! What? …What did you say?" he stammered.

"I asked if you could help me build a go-cart, again."

"I was afraid of that…" Pugsy took in a deep breath. "Flip… do you remember the LAST time we built a go-cart?"

"Yeah, I noticed the flashbacks. …But this is different! Derek kept picking on me, and I want to put him in his place!"

"Flip, there's always a time in life when you have to call something off, and walk away in a mature and dignified manner."

Flip got on his hands and knees. "PLEEEAAASE help me! I'm too young to lose my dignity! Please please please please please ohh pleeeeaaaaase!"

Pugsy gave a deadpanned look towards the audience. "I take it back- this kid already butchered whatever dignity he had left." He walked out onto the balcony. "I'm sorry, Flip, but this is something you're going to have to do on your own,"

"Oh, c'mon! I promise it won't be like last time- I'll be the only one driving, all you have to do is help me build it, and this time we've got a few days to work on it…"

"The answer is still NO, Flip. Just tell Derek you don't have a go-cart, and that you'll just have to race him another time. Just stop letting his words bugify ya."

"Hey Chan!" came Derek's voice from down in the backyard. "Are you up for the race, or does your babysitter say it's too dangerous without your car-seat? HA HA HA!"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?!" Flip shouted at him.

"Yeah- practicing driving my go-cart and winning!" Derek walked over to his go-cart- painted black with red flames on the side, and a skull-picture on the hood. "So long, _Flop_ Chan!" he then sped off.

Flip looked up at Pugsy. "Get the tools- we're going to show that jerk how a REAL go-cart is made," Pugsy said at last.

"Yes!" Flip exclaimed, running inside to get the tools.

Pugsy let out a deep breath. "The things I go through to shut that jerk up…"

d~b

Meanwhile, Shaggy was driving in his red van, Flim-Flam in the front seat. He had changed in the past 3 years- his black hair was a little longer, he had built up a little muscle, and he now wore a yellow jacket over a white shirt, with torn jeans. "So Flip's living with ya, huh?" Flim-Flam asked Shaggy.

"Yeah, just while he goes to this Junior Detective School," Shaggy replied.

"Cool… of all the dumb luck, Vinny made me go to regular school,"

"By the way… why did you get suspended, again?"

"Ah, the staff there doesn't appreciate a few magic tricks-"

Shaggy gave him a look. "What did you break?"

Flim-Flam sighed. "The coffee-pot in the teacher's lounge… followed by the whole lounge. I swear, those flowers were supposed to squirt water, not burst into flames!"

Shaggy shook his head. "Like, better save the tricks for after-school, Flim-Flam. …and don't try to teach Flip any of them!"

"Alright, alright, I won't! …Speaking of 'teaching', can I try driving now?"

Shaggy groaned. "Wait until we get to the apartment…"

"Fine… sheesh, why is everyone so uptight about teaching me to drive?"

d~b

Back at the apartment, Pugsy and Flip were in the parking-lot of the apartment, in a garage. They had hauled in some scrap from the junkyard to use for their go-cart. So far, they had the frame of it constructed. "We still need a few more parts. Go down to the basement- Robotnik might have some scrap material leftover from all those gadgets he stores down there," Pugsy told Flip.

"On it!" Flip said, running down to the basement of the apartment.

In said basement, Robotnik was constructing a new machine- a rocket-missile that he planned to launch over the city. "Once this machine is finished, the world will be at our mercy!" Robotnik cackled.

Flip came down just then. "Hey, guys- WHOA! What's that?"

"Gah! Um… it's, uh… a new statue we're going to place on the top of the building. We're, um, trying to add more décor to the apartment building. What are you doing down here?!"

"Just wondering if you had any scrap material I could borrow. Pugs and I are building a go-cart,"

"Bah! Juvenile construction! Fine, grab what you need, but keep out of my way!" Robotnik turned his back on Flip.

Flip looked around, seeing a bunch of material on a workbench… seeing what appeared to be a glowing piston. "Hey, can I use this?"

Robotnik didn't look. "Sure, fine, just hurry up and leave!"

"Thanks!" Flip grabbed it, plus a few more materials, and left, leaving behind a regular piston.

Robotnik grabbed it, hardly looking at it as he handed it to Jasper. "Now, for the final piece- the nuclear-piston, guaranteed to not only give our rocket extra speed, but a launch that will literately blow everyone away!"

*click*Jasper installed it…

*BOOM!*

…Need I explain what happened next.

Jasper blinked, burned to a crisp. Robotnik wavered a bit, charred and dazed, the tip of his left mustache baring a tiny flame. "*cough* …well… back to square one…" he wheezed, then passed out.

d~b

Later that day, Pugs and Flip decided to take a break from their work until tomorrow afternoon, as Shaggy returned home with Flim-Flam. "So, what's it like living here?" Flim-Flam asked Flip, as he unpacked his things in the spare room.

"Pretty cool, but sometimes weird stuff happens," Flip replied. "Like this one time, everyone ended up switching bodies for a whole day,"

Flim-Flam laughed. "Good thing I'm used to weird things like that! Good thing there's never a dull moment, huh?"

Flip shrugged. "Sometimes it's good. …Not as good as turning 16 though. When are you going to start driving?"

Flim-Flam rolled his eyes. "Whenever Shaggy gets off the phone with his insurance agent. You think Pugs could teach me?"

"Not on your life, kid." Pugsy commented, passing by.

"He's, uh, already busy helping me out." Flip said. "We're building a go-cart,"

Flim-Flam's eyes widened. "Again?! After what happened last time?!"

"Yeah, but this time we- hey, wait a minute! You weren't around last time, how did you find out?!"

"I read Shaggy's journal- it took up 5 pages, describing how horrifying it was and how many times his life flashed before his eyes… the total was 10, by the way."

"I wonder how many times it'll be, when he's teaching you to drive,"

Flim-Flam scoffed. "Geez, why does everyone assume I'm a bad driver?! Just wait until I ace my exam, then you'll see…" with that, he walked out. "Hey, Shaggy, can we start now?"

"Like, hold on, Flim-Flam, I'm still writing out my will!" Shaggy replied.

"Oh, knock it off. Just show me what to do, and I'll do fine! We'll have to do it sooner or later, before I take my exam."

"*sigh* Alright, lets go…"

"Finally! …And take off the football helmet, Shag,"

Flip shook his head. "His journal is going to be pretty interesting after this…" he said to himself.

d~b

Shaggy and Flim-Flam were on a dirt road on the outskirts of the city, the teenager in the driver's seat, ready to begin his lesson.

"Alright, that's your brake there, on the left, and the right pedal is the acceleration," Shaggy told him.

"What about the third pedal?" Flim-Flam asked.

Shaggy scratched his head. "Um… I don't know, maybe the emergency brake or something. Alright, what's the first thing you do?"

"You're the teacher, you tell me!"

Shaggy gave him a deadpanned look.

Flim-Flam looked. "Kidding. Start the car-" he turned the key in the ignition-

*Scrreeeeech!*

Both of them cringed, their hair sticking out. "Eh heh… I forgot, it's already started."

"Like, right…" Shaggy sighed. "Shift it into gear,"

Flim-Flam grabbed the clutch, trying to pull it. "It's stuck!"

Shaggy sighed. "You have to push down on the brake,"

"Oh, right." Flim-Flam pushed down on the right pedal-

*VROOOOOM!*

The car shot forward! "AAAUUGH!" both of them screamed.

*Crash!*

They ended up swerving into the ravine. Shaggy was clutching the dash-board, and Flim-Flam had a tight grip on the wheel. "Wrong… pedal…" Shaggy stammered.

*POOF!* went the air-bags.

d~b

_The Next Afternoon…_

Derek was cruising down the street in his go-cart, pulling up to Holly and Brattina. "Hello, Holly. Want to take a ride?" he asked.

"Sorry, I was taught never to accept rides from strangers," Holly scoffed.

"But you know me!"

"That doesn't mean you're not strange," With that, Holly walked off.

Brattina smiled dreamily. "I'll take a ride, Derek," She said, coyly.

"Geez, what's her problem?" Derek asked himself, not even noticing Brattina, then drove off.

Brattina sighed. "He's SUCH a dreamboat!"

As Derek rode by the apartments, he noticed Flip heading to the garage, carrying a toolbox. "What's Chan up to?" Derek wondered, parking his go-cart and walking over, peeking around the corner.

Flip and Pugsy were working on a go-cart, the pre-teen tightening a few gaskets while the stocky young man oiled the axel. "Alright, Flip, that should do it," Pugsy said. "Just needs a paint-job, and it'll be ready for Saturday."

"Great! Thanks again, Pugs- can I take it out for a test-drive?" Flip asked.

"Maybe tomorrow. Let's take a break for the day, first."

Derek ducked behind a trash-bin, as the two walked out. "So he just now built the go-cart, huh?" the bully said, then noticed they left the tool-kit behind. "I think that twerp needs a lesson on running his mouth, heh heh heh…"

d~b

Shaggy and Flim-Flam, meanwhile, were back on the dirt-road for a new lesson. This time, Flim-Flam let him wear the football helmet. "Okay… now you're SURE you know which pedal is the brake, right?" Shaggy asked.

"Yep… tattooed in my memory after yesterday," Flim-Flam answered.

"Alright… lets get started then. Shift it into drive,"

Flim-Flam did so.

"Now, _carefully_ tap the acceleration with your foot, _gently_."

Flim-Flam did so, making the car move at 3 miles an hour. "Can I go a little faster?"

"One step at a time! Okay… see the speed limit? Push down on the pedal until you get it up to that speed, then I'll show you how to put it in cruise-control,"

"Got it," Flim-Flam pushed on the pedal, the car now moving at 45 mph, the speed limit on the road.

"Alright, now for cruise control, just push that button there…"

"This one?" Flim-Flam hit a button… and the wind-shield wipers activated.

"No, the other one, right there by the horn,"

"Okay," Flim-Flam found the button and hit it.

"Good, now hit your cruise-control button."

Flim-Flam did so.

"Good, now when you're on highways, you just activate cruise control to set a speed… um…" Shaggy looked, seeing they were passing a telephone pole very, very, very slowly. "Uh, Flim-Flam… you have to make sure you're up to the speed limit when you set it,"

"Whoops, okay let me get back up to speed- WHOA!"

A deer ran in front of them. "Look out! Hit the brakes!"

Flim-Flam did so, but also jerked the wheel. The deer stood there, blandly watching as the car did the slowest swerve into the ditch, taking up to 45 seconds just to get to the edge of it. It then mildly crossed the road.

"Okay, another lesson: when stopping for deer… Don't. Swerve. The wheel." Shaggy said blandly.

*POOF!* went the airbag again.

d~b

_The Next Afternoon…_

Flip entered the garage, eager to test out his new go-cart. He opened up the door…

Gasping when he saw that the wheels had been unscrewed, the seat torn, and the steering wheel replaced with a tiny inner-tube (which immediately deflated). Someone had sabotaged his cart!

"What the…?! Who did this?!" Flip stammered… as if he needed to ask.

"Hey, Chan, I came to check out this go-cart you were telling me ab-" came Derek's voice as the bully walked over, stopping and feigning shock. "Whoa! What's that hunk of junk?!"

Flip turned angrily towards him. "You did this, didn't you?!"

"Pfft, don't blame this on me! It's not MY fault you were lying through your teeth about having an 'awesome' go-cart. If you still want to race that heap against MY hot-rod Saturday, you'd better patch it up… unless you want to give me 25 bucks now and spare the humiliation,"

"Forget it! The race is still on, and once I beat you, your car will look worse than a pile of scrap metal!"

"Ooh, I'm shaking," Derek walked off. "Let me know when you get a good comeback!"

Flip clenched his fists, then turned to his go-cart. He grabbed the tools still lying about, and got to work fixing it, grumbling to himself.

Shawn K. entered just then. "Having trouble, Flip?" he asked.

Flip sighed. "You don't know the half of it… Pugs and I built this go-cart, and someone- or should I say, DEREK- ruined it!"

Shawn knelt down. "Probably couldn't handle the competition. Don't let his action bother you- it actually made him look like a coward."

"Yeah, but we worked all day on it yesterday!"

"There's no problem in working on it again, maybe making it better and double-checking for any kinks. There's no rush, is there?"

"Well, we're racing Saturday at noon…"

"So there's still time." Shawn picked up a wrench. "Now, lets see what we can do,"

d~b

_Two Days Later..._

Shaggy walked into the apartment early that afternoon… the car's steering wheel stuck around his neck. Flim-Flam followed in, looking a bit anxious. "So… um…" the teenager began, but Shaggy raised his hand and silenced him.

"Don't. Say. A word." The lanky young man said, sharply.

"Oh come on, Shag! I swear, that flamingo came out of nowhere! And I said I'd pay for the damages-"

"How?! You don't even have a job! …And don't think pulling a few cons will help!"

"I said I'm sorry! Just give me another chance, please?! My exam is tomorrow!"

"Flim-Flam, the way you drive, there's NO WAY you'd be allowed on the road! For the past few days my car's ended up in the ditch enough times that it has its own parking space there, I still have an air-bag imprint on my face, and my car's in the shop for the umpteenth time! I doubt even the Freelance Police would be crazy enough to let you drive!"

Flim-Flam gave a hurt look. "I still tried…"

"Well, not hard enough," Shaggy took out a Driver's Manual, and handed it to Flim-Flam. "I want you to study for your exam. I've already taught you enough- you're just going to have to apply it!" With that, he walked out of the room.

Flim-Flam blinked. "…What if I bought you an extra-large, triple-surpreme pizza?"

Shaggy gave him a look.

"…Extra cheese, and a large drink on the side."

"Fine… but we're going to have to try something else since my car is still totaled," He then walked over to the television, pulled out a gaming system, and held up _Grand Theft Auto. _

d~b

_Saturday_

It was 11:30 as Flip, Pugsy, and Shawn wheeled out the fixed/complete go-cart. It was dark-blue with a yellow lightning bolt on the side, and a large "FP" symbol on the hood. "Ready for a quick test-drive?" Shawn asked him.

"You bet! I can't wait to cream Derek!" Flip replied, determined.

"Slow down there, tiger. First you've got to check the speed on it," Pugsy said.

Flip hit the acceleration-

The nuclear piston inside began to pump rapidly-

*SHOOM!*

The cart shot off, leaving a neon-blue streak behind, the launch so massive it blew Pugsy and Shawn into the wall! "Holy… smokes!" Shawn gasped.

"WHOOOOOAAAAAAAA!" Flip was screaming, hands clutching the wheel for dear life as he shot down the road, swerving to avoid traffic.

He shot by Katrina Stonehart and Robotnik, blowing by so fast they swapped outfits! (Robotnik let out a shriek and covered himself).

A cop measuring the speed of passing by cars sat by a corner. When Flip shot by, the readings went up so high, the meter blew! "What the…?!" he gasped, then turned on his siren to go after the go-cart, shooting down the street.

On Mulberry Lane, Derek waited at the top of the hill in his go-cart, looking at his watch, seeing it was noon. "Chan probably chickened out." The bully scoffed. "Doesn't surprise me, that cart of his is a pile of-"

"SOMEBODY STOP THIS THING!" Flip shouted as his go-cart shot by!

"What the…?! HEY! NO CHEATING!" Derek revved up his vehicle and shot after him. "That's MY job!"

Flip tried hitting the brakes, but the cart didn't stop! Derek managed to catch up to him, ramming his cart into Flip's, both of them neck-in-neck. The go-cart was suddenly starting to slow down… but only because, due to all the thrusts and ramming, a few gears were loose and it was falling apart! "Oh no!" Flip cried, trying to control it…

No good. The cart fell to pieces and Derek gained the lead, reaching the bottom of the hill first. By the time Flip got to the bottom, all that was left was the steering wheel, tires, and seat. "Ha! I won!" Derek gloated. "Cough up the twenty-five bucks, nerd!"

Flip sighed, handing over the cash.

"Ha! I knew I'd win! I've got the fastest go-cart in the city!"

"So it was YOU driving around town like a maniac!" The cop shouted, storming up and taking the money from Derek. "Give me that! This will pay off your fee for your reckless driving!"

"But- but- but-"

"No 'buts'! You're lucky you're just a kid, otherwise I'd see you in court! Consider this a warning! And next time you go driving around in that thing, read the road signs!" With that, the officer stormed off.

Derek gawked while Flip blinked. The bully sneered at him. "Well… I've still got an awesome go-cart, and it's all in one piece!"

*CRASH!*

Flim-Flam, driving in a 'Student Driver' van, had backed up and crashed into the go-cart, smashing it to pieces! "Oh, crud, sorry! I didn't see that!" he gasped.

"That's minus six points," the teacher said, scribbling on a clipboard. "Lets see if your parallel parking will make up for it,"

Derek gawked, unable to speak as he stared at his wrecked go-cart. "Well, good race Derek. See ya around," Flip said, then quickly ran off before the bully could take out his anger on him.

d~b

Later that afternoon, Flip told Shaggy and Pugsy all that had happened. "I feel sort of bad for letting Derek take the blame…" he said.

"Hey, the creep deserved it- plus, technically, it was YOUR money that paid the fine, and you lost the go-cart… I think you've been punished enough," Pugsy replied.

"I'm just glad Derek got what was coming to him, too." Shaggy said with a chuckle. "But, like, I wonder how Flim-Flam did on his exam?"

"Here he comes now," Flip said, as Flim-Flam walked over. "So did you ace your test?"

Flim-Flam let out a heavy sigh. "No, I didn't ace it…" he replied… then held up a driver's license! "But I still managed to get a passing score!"

"Zoinks! …I mean, that's great, Flim-Flam," Shaggy replied. "Now you just need a car,"

"That's the best part! Vinny said that at the wizard's convention, he won a new car- and said I could have it since he doesn't drive!"

Shaggy paled.

"Well, I'm going to go inside now and play more Grand Theft. You want to come, Flip?"

"Sure! I can show you a few cheat-codes," Flip replied.

Shaggy and Pugsy sat there in stunned silence. "…I'm staying off the streets until that license expires," Pugsy said.

"Ditto." Shaggy agreed.

d~b

**A/N: Ditto ditto.**


End file.
